An Ideal Host

Liz and Jackson are planning the perfect party for a select group of friends, to allow them to break the news of their up and coming wedding. However there's an unwanted guest on the way from their past, who has decided to make an appearance, and who may well derail the whole thing, in a most unexpected manner. This is a great black comedy, with a sharp script that neatly uses the confines of the dinner party to tease out the past secrets and hidden resentments from the guests. With the wine flowing the carefully planned evening slow decent into bitter backbiting escalates in unexpected ways and an unexpected anarchic element to the film that just makes it so much fun. Full credit goes to the entire cast who create such a wonderful chemistry between them all, but especially credit to Nadia Collins as Liz who has to witness her carefully laid plans slowly unfold, but not let things get the better of her.

An Aussie Indy film, small budget, small cast, but it is neither deserving a highly rated score, nor bottom of the barrel ones. And it is best viewed without knowing anything about the movie. Liz and Jackson are planning a dinner party with their close friends, and are practicing their marriage proposal, as they want it just right. And after 10 years together, they decided it was the right time. Liz is one to want things perfect, and she has everything timed to the minute, from when the 'good' wine will be served to when dessert will be served. She gets up the next morning ready to set the table, but she has a problem deciding on the theme. And no one can possibly have as many different dinner sets as she has to go along with different decor themes. But there is a wrinkle, in that Daisy, who was not invited, is coming along with some other guests. Daisy is known as prone to drinking, and an overall disruptive force. Daisy arrives, and naturally starts to interfere with Liz's tight schedule. She immediately searches out the 'good' wine, not the regular wine before dinner Liz wanted to serve. And Mara, invited, can't help but keep reminding everyone she just got back from Bali. So there are plenty of conflicts, open and simmering that could upset the tight schedule Liz has set for the dinner. About 2/3 through the movie, there is an unexpected twist that no one could expect, and sends the movie in a much different direction. I don't think this is the strongest part of the movie.

It flew under the radar as i can tell. For me, it's underrated. It was very enjoyable and it kept me guessing during the first half. I didn't know if it was a dark comedy, a comedy/mystery, a comedy/horror, a comedy/sci fi etc. I won't reveal the genre because that would be a spoiler and you should watch it without reading anything about the plot. Acting was good, it's well directed, there are some funny moments and during the last 30 minutes, it gets more intense. Of course this is a movie that doesn't take itself too seriously, so don't expect anxiety-inducing scenes. Lower your expectations and you'll probably enjoy it, especially if you are in the mood for a fine, little flick that tooks place mostly in a night. Still, this is definitely not a 10/10 or 9/10, come on, reviews like this raise the expectations and viewers get then disappointed.

Imagine that you planned the perfect dinner party and then things started to go a bit wrong. And then even more wrong. How wrong? The only way to describe it would be to compare this film to a movie where King Kong was tearing the Titanic apart just before it hit the iceberg. The action just keeps getting more and more extreme until it reaches complete madness, and it goes a few steps more. This movie is great fun if you have a taste for the absurd.

5/10

Stumbled across this and something compelled me to watch it. Dont know why Not bad for such a low budget affair but you wont want to take your Mum.

After the credits roll, there is not much about this film that will make you want to talk about it, or remember it.

Credit due for its boldness.

A hard film to love or hate really, but tbh i was happy when it ended.

It wont be a film that will live in the hearts or souls of anyone, or make any kind of dent in the history of cinema for that matter.

I applaud the filmakers for making something out of what seems to be nothing. Gotta give credit for that.