User reviews

I saw this movie yesterday in a deserted theater. There were 3 other patrons in attendance, which perhaps gives an insight into the fate of its theatrical release. Where to begin with the disatisfaction I felt watching it? For starters, despite the characters being described as being in their late 20's, the actors playing them did not look that age. Try mid thirties instead. It was a jarring and distracting element. This film dealt with 20s somethings who live in ultra glamorous surroundings whilst having identity crises and wondering what "it is all about" . They also attend lavish "ultra hip" events............basically. Its a hard life isn't it? . These are people you wouldn't want to spend a substantial amount of time with. This film seemed to comprise of party scene, after party scene, after party scene, after.......................If something actually happened at these parties, I could actually justify it. I cannot recall a film i have attended in recent memory that has DRAGGED as much as this film. I was aware of its 114 minute running time before going in, and I was stunned when I looked at my watch after what I thought was a substantial amount of time, to realise I had an hour left to go in the company of these annoying characters. Large tracts of this film could have been edited out without the "plot" being affected. I.e the segment dealing with the Russian tennis player. The film also appeared to a running advertisement for several corporate organisations, if you watch the film, it will be easy to detect them. The scene at the horse races has to be one of the most horribly photographed scenes in recent memory, with the actors outfitted in the most garish headgear and formal wear. The film has no score to speak of, it is just pop rock song after pop rock song of the Silverchair, Powderfinger variety. In the end, you start to wonder if you are watching some sort of music video montage . Another instance of the film falling victim to its own perceived "hip"ness. Perhaps Australian audiences are a bit more critical when Aussie films attempt to emulate tried and true formulas used more successfully by Hollywood (I.e the slick rom-com)? But this film did not ring true for me. It seems to me that perhaps the Working Dog team should have attempted a story about characters closer in age to THEM. I cannot recommend this film and if I had to summarise it in a word, it would be PHONY. Wait for DVD. (If you must).

I really enjoyed this film for a lazy winters Friday night ..

Of course being from Melb it's always fun to watch movies made near home, I will agree not the most amazing cinematography and the story line or way scenes were constructed didn't really flow. Some of the music tracks are not timed well..

Having said that very entertaining, made me smile and did make me want to fall in love with some good quotes about life and commitment evoking feelings of nostalgia. I guess being 28 myself can relate a lot to the story and becoming relationship focused!

The dude is 30 playing a 27 yr old so it's not as far fetched as others claim..

It would be great to see more Aussie films in future that go the next level, but heading in the right direction.

I avoided ANY QUESTIONS FOR BEN? on its release as I simply didn't like the title and after watching a slew of uninteresting contemporary Australian comedies I decided to give the film a miss. I watched the it this evening on a streaming channel and was surprised to find I liked it as much as I did ... which may not be saying much. I wasn't aware this was a Working Dog production (the team who made The Castle and The Dish, as well as numerous highly successful and very funny television shows) and while it lacks the laugh out loud comedy of their earlier films, it contains a conventional rom-com formula that works fairly well.

Title character Ben (Hosh Lawson) is in his late twenties and although a university drop-out, he has built a high-profile reputation in marketing. Admired and envied by his friends, Ben lives in the CBD with his two best mates and spends his nights and weekends socialising and hopping from one tryst to the next.

After returning as a guest speaker to his alma mater, Ben meets up with old university friend Alex (Rachel Taylor) and learns she is working for the UN in Yemen. Both Ben and Alex address the current students at their old school and talk about their careers. During question time, the students have loads of questions for Alex but no one has questions for Ben - thus the film's awkward title. This causes an existential crisis for Ben who suddenly finds himself in searching for meaning. There is a hint of Woody Allen here that reminds me of Annie Hall, Another Woman and Hannah and Her Sisters (though not at all in the same league) where Manhattan protagonists stop moving long enough to suddenly recognise that their lives are meaningless.

Ben becomes fixated on Alex but finds that his old habits are hard to break as his fear to commit to anything longterm gets in the way of meaningful relationships. It is difficult to try and decipher what it is the Working Dog team are trying to say with their film. While Ben's friends are not unlikeable, there is a general lack of depth to any of them except Ben who feels increasingly isolated and alone in his angst-ridden journey even as he continually tries and fails to reach out to friends and family and connect on a more intimate level.

In the end, Ben makes a decision to stay with this job and his apartment after having led a a life of transient affluence throughout his twenties. This extends to his relationship with Alex and he finally gets enough gumption to put himself on the line for love. After flitting about Melbourne hot spots throughout the film, the ultimate message of the film seems to be that the solution for soullessness can be found in a highly conservative formula of work and family values ... yet after meeting Ben's parents, even this seems hollow. Is there a deeper cynical agenda at work for the Working Dog team? Maybe, although I'm thinking this is more my reading of the film as I seriously doubt they are clever enough to pull off cynicism with a lightness of touch.

The constant socialising at prominent Melbourne venues and festivals captured in fast paced montage as well as the deluge of aerial shots of the CBD certainly show off just how much the city of Melbourne has to offer - and what is shown of this beautiful southern city is not even half of what there is, especially as the film rarely wonders outside the space of the CBD to explore its rich cafe culture, theatre and arts - yet the constancy and excessiveness of shots of Melbourne seem like the film has been sponsored by a tourist information group. This might be a love letter to Melbourne, yet the film ends by ultimately showing that one has to fly to Yemen to actually find love.

I did watch it on a plane which i Believe is the perfect way to view it, and while it is a shameless advertisement for Melbourne, I thought Rachel Taylor really shined in this rom-com. Also the post credit sequence is one of my favourite bits. I'm sure if I were to go back for a watch now ther'll be some pretty problematic parts, but hey.

Don't bother watching this movie unless you want to watch a narcissistic rich boy complaining about his almost perfect life and how hard it is, and sit through the worst editing you have ever seen used in a film...then go ahead :)

So apparently I have to have 10 lines of text so I'll continue by telling you about how terrible the love interest (played by Rachel Taylor) is. Throughout the whole movie, Ben is blowing her off and screwing her around CONSTANTLY and every single time she just forgives him, just like that. I mean REALLY!

Has it been 10 lines yet?

I started watching this movie just due to my recent admiration for the writers, and the fact that I live in Melbourne. Reading a few of the reviews on here prior to watching this though did make me wonder if it was even worth my time.....

Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised. The story is simple enough - boy meets girl at a reunion, boy royally screws things up, boy attempt to win girl back whilst understanding his own existence.

Personally, I loved the snappy dialogue, and although Ben had his flaws, he remained a lovable protagonist all the same. His love interest Alex was portrayed fantastically by Rachael Taylor, and Ben's various friends and family reinforced his both his charm and downfalls. Finally, the backdrop of Melbourne became the ultimate star of the movie with its romantic scenery and incredible events that add to the pace of the story.

Do yourself a favour - if it is a rainy night, snuggle up on the couch with a cup of peppermint tea and lose yourself in this romcom.

I watched this film in comfortable surrounds. It seemed (from other reviews) to be a likable look at the shiftless, affluent 20-somethings in my, and in every city. What happened is, I wanted to like AQfB much more than in fact I did.

It is a slight, and whimsical story about a 20-something executive, named in the title, whose life is free and without commitment. The film is at pains to point out that the event which starts him questioning his life. This event is pointed to, telegraphed and then repeated to the point of saturation.

Overall, AQfB was a combination of a badly edited film school project, a surfeit of one-liners looking for a home, and a good first draft for a much shorter film -- which, I believe should have been made.

The story of the film is not very original, but I guess with romcoms they rarely are. Its enjoyable enough to watch. Josh Lawson is charismatic as the main character and Rachael Taylor is also good and easy to look at, with some key scenes that stand out. Many of the side characters are quite annoying and mostly exist to ask Ben questions about himself.

Whats quite annoying is the overuse of music in scenes, at times its just going from montage to montage, and seems to be trying to cover up for a lack of depth in the script. He film sometimes rushes through scenes too fast to properly immerse viewers. The scenery is a highlight of various locations.

The story concept is great, really something I'd enjoy watching, I love marketing, love personal development, love romance. So a story of someone realising they're not quite doing life the way that leads to fulfillment is a good one. Love interest thrown in? You're onto a winner!

Except that it's not a good movie, it shows twice as much information than is needed to make a point in the plot.

The main character just comes across as a complete ass who has no feelings for anyone, barely himself.

The "Mentor" character is awful, seriously, why would anyone take "advice" from someone like this?

Some of the lines are just plain awful, I would class them at the level of high school kids learning how to write a screen play.

A decent editor would have helped, to stop it getting boring but it would have simply moved my rating from a 3 to a 4.5 at best.

The characters just weren't congruent/realistic, one scene where his friends fiancé supposedly is so frustrated with his attitude comes out of the blue and doesn't make any sense whatsoever..

Another point Ben is amazed that Alex can speak fluent Arabic, you'd have thought she'd just discovered the theory of relativity, or something similar that is truly amazing, rather than learned to speak the language of the country she's lived and worked in for years...

Watching movies like this makes you realise just how good really great directors and editors actually are, you don't notice their skills because it just makes the film seamless, and enjoyable, and one that you can emotionally connect and empathise with the characters.

I think the story told is a common one, avoidance of intimacy but it's done very clumsily. If I were involved in the making of this movie I would consider it a "Learning experience"...

If you want to watch a movie that could have been brilliant, but was destroyed by poor screen writing, poor direction, and poor editing, this is the movie for you!

The main thing you need to remember with this movie is that it's not supposed to win an Oscar for best film, so if you go into the film expecting it to be the greatest thing to ever hit a movie screen then your simply going to be disappointed. Instead, go in for a laugh. It's a feel good instant classic with some very genuine characters. You'll recognise a lot of them from your daily life which really helps you relate to the film.

Basically the film has a very 'funny because its true' vibe therefore creating a very close relationship with its audience, making it very hard not to relax and actually enjoy the movie rather than analysing every thing thats wrong with it.

A huge positive for me was the great/true light it showed Melbourne in. It's always been a struggle of mine to explain to internationals why they should visit Melbourne, I wouldn't recommend any of the so called 'tourist attractions'. So having the film visit the races, grand prix, moonlight cinema, air balloons and some top night spots really brought the movie on a whole to a 9 star finish for me.

So if you want a fun night out and have a good sense of humour then this is the movie for you. Can't wait to see it again.

What can I say, my girlfriend and I were keen to see this when it was first promoted, as the marketing was of course excellent. I should state for the record, Im not a fan of Australian Movies, the last one I saw was Red Dog, and I found it for the most part, boring and woefully over acted. Questions for Ben improves ever so slightly on the overacting, but only because a couple of the actors were surprisingly good. David James was BRILLIANT.... I've never noticed him before in previous showings, but he was believable, and played his part perfectly, excellent actor who deserves more work on this performance.

I was also pleasantly surprised by Rachel Taylors performance. I felt she was excellent and believable in her character, and didn't over Act, something I feel Australian actors are renowned for.I was pleasantly surprised by her abilities, I did like her in Red Dog , but I loved her performance in this, she seems to have learnt a lot between gigs and i cant help but wonder if her American experiences have assisted her in the improvement? I walked away thinking she carried the film, and although the script was a bit all over the place, when she was on the screen, she carried her scenes.

I couldn't stand the fast pace conversations/banter/one liners in the first part of the film, I felt it was a poor attempt at covering up bad acting or screenplay by the director. At one point, the cameras seemed to swap so often I was worried id get dizzy.

The Directors/Producers do deserve credit for the choice of locations and the use of the camera in the flyovers and general long shots made melbourne look stunning. Maybe they should be paid to do a Tourism Commercial for Melbourne!!!!! I really wanted this to be good, and expected it to be so, as it was a Working Dog project.... Id be lying if I didn't say it was disappointing, id have been furious if Id paid A$36 to see it at the cinema.

There are nice views of Sydney and the characters aren't overly ocker like they tend to be in some Aussie films. Those are the positive things I have to say about this movie.

Any Questions for Ben is tedious, to put it simply. It's a story of a wealthy, successful "27 year old" (looks late '30s at least), and his little mid-life crisis. Similar in some ways to "Bliss", but as if it was written by a marketing executive. None of the characters except for Ben have any depth or reality, little of the dialogue really fits their personalities or the situations, and few of the actors are convincing in their roles apart for Lachy Hulme as Ben's friend Sam, who was pretty believable as his character.

I was astounded by the obvious expense on show for such a limited story- top tier sports cars, locations galore, extras, helicopter shots all over the place, and last but not least all the music, a lot of it big hit songs. And that was another one of the issues: Massive hit songs like Time of the Season by the Zombies simply wasted on boring reaction shots. There was such an obvious attempt to add depth and feeling to very empty scenes with iconic songs that the emptiness of the scene was highlighted rather than disguised.

There were some good ingredients here and a lot of obvious quality film making skill, but the writing was just so underdone and superficial.

Not much of a story here. You can tell the story was crafted around the advertising for Melbourne and Victoria who paid for the film. As a result the story is flimsy at best. It's entertaining enough if you don't want to think too much.

The biggest problem with this movie is that it is about nothing that anyone cares about. The main character in the movie is a self-important, wealthy jerk who spends the movie treating those around him like crap and being nasty to the one girl who puts up with it.... and for some reason the movie acts like we are expected to like him.

The woman keeps putting up with his crap and emotional mindgames and what have you, and rather than being a deconstruction of the typical rom-com, the movie plays it straight and expects us to cheer and leave with a smile when it reaches its all too predictable ending.

None of this would make the movie unwatchable, in and of themselves, no, what makes the movie unwatchable is that it just isn't funny. Most of the so-called 'jokes' fall flat, they are predictable and considering all the cutting edge comedies released over the past few years, it makes this one just seem absolutely pathetic by comparison.

Another insult is that the film has all these so-called 'cutting edge' 'hip' bands to play on the soundtrack which just becomes distracting as the songs become gratuitous by playing for way too long. Couple this with pointless shots of Melbourne city and the train line, shots which go on for way too long and serve no narrative function, and you have one of the worst movies to ever come out of Australia.

If you wanted to prove to people that Australian cinema was not a joke and was not dying then don't show them this movie, as you would make your own point invalid. What a waste of potential.

"Any questions for Ben" is one of those quintessentially Australian offerings - a realistic film about real life people living in a real life world, and asking every day real life questions about their own lives.

The main character, Ben (a fantastic portrayal of a twenty-something playboy searching for the meaning of life, by actor Josh Lawson) seems to have it all - great job, wads of cash, gorgeous girlfriends, fast cars, partying mates, etc. etc.

When he is invited back to his old school to talk about his career to the next generation of job seekers his life seems complete - but it is this event that sets him off on a quest to find more meaning in what he begins to see as his superficial existence.

There is a wonderful supporting cast including a best mate who loves to party but lacks any trace of emotional intelligence (Andy, played by Christian Clark), a second bestie (Nick, played by Daniel Henshall) who envies Ben's lifestyle but is not much of a party animal himself (".....seems a bit weird to be the designated driver on your bucks night...") and Ben's ultimate love interest, Alex, a beauty both inside and out with a brain to match, played by the lovely Rachel Taylor, of whom I am sure we will be seeing a lot more (Nicole Kidman comes to mind).

The beautiful city of Melbourne makes a stunning backdrop to this thoughtful movie which will make you laugh a bit (especially the scene that rolls during the credits) and possibly cry a little - but overall you should feel that it was a very worthwhile experience.

Any Questions for Ben does deal with an interesting subject: the changes in your thinking and approach to life that occurs as you approach 30.

However, there's a few problems with the production qualities of the film that generally lets it down. First, none of the actors look like they're in their late 20s. More like mid 30s and somehow that takes credibility out of it.

Second, they gave him the wrong job and life for someone having that late-20s crisis. He's dating models, attending leading social events, driving sports cars and living the dream. Someone in that position having some sort of existential crisis seems comically unbelievable. Almost seems like a whinging playboy at times.

Product placement was rich. Editing was snappy and dizzy. Pop rock music blasted in and out - and who on earth still does fade-to-black at the end of a scene?

The film was way too long. Lots of things could have been left on the cutting room floor. It was apparently expensive to make, yet there's a pointless indulgent skiing trip in New Zealand and an unnecessary trip to Yemen at the end.

The interplay between the characters was rather funny at times. The writers certainly have a good way of portraying awkward social situations and funny eccentricities in people we can relate to.

The most unusual thing about this film is that its only mildly amusing for the most part, the scene where he's been interviewed by customs when the credits roll is absolutely hysterical.

I don't normally write any reviews but felt I had to for this one, Any Questions for Ben is a beautiful film that is LOL...... Great performances by all the cast especially Josh and Rachel, a surprise was to see how great Felicity Ward is, as she is a stand up comedian, but with a brilliant script, and lovely direction she grounds the film. Any Questions For Ben looks gorgeous, beautifully shot with Melbourne being shown as the international destination that it is.... It is a warm and funny film......With fabulous music.. Go see it for yourselves.... Stay for the hysterical scene at the end while the credits go through I was sore from laughing.....

I tend to agree with most of the positive things that have been said about this film but wish to add that the true genius of this production is the casting by Jane Kennedy.

Not one poor or corny performance in the whole film. It is wonderful to know and see just how many really good actors there are in this country.

The excellent performances from the main leads and all of supporting roles make this a joy from start to finish.

Ben's parents, Sam, Andy, The airport staff etc etc - fantastic! Well done all but please take a special bow Jane!

From the director of "The Castle" comes a fun, yet important film about a quarter life crisis, the reason for living and how life cannot be measure by how successful you are in your job, the amount of money or your girls scoring record. "Any Questions for Ben?" is one of those well-meaning films that counts and goes the distance in dealing one of the more prominent issues about one's passion, direction and focus in life.

"Any Questions for Ben?" is a film about an universal issue of the reason for our existence, yet it remains extremely and uniquely Australian in its comedy, approach and Melbourne cityscape. What does it truly means to be successful? I am sure, once in your life, whether you are in your twenties, thirties or even sixties, there will be a clear moment in your life where you question yourself, quite simply, why am I doing this? Sometimes, maybe you only need a moment of inspiration and you can sure of what you have been doing for most of your life is well worth it. For others, it may not be quite so simple, as it may take them time to figure out what it is that they are truly passionate about their lives and what essentially drives them. It is exactly the question and dilemma that faces the main character Ben for the entire film, in fact, it took him exactly two hours running time to finally figure it out.

Josh Lawson ("The Wedding Party") is fast becoming one of Australia's hottest up and coming talent, and is perfectly casted as the man that seem to have it all in his hands and destiny. However, Lawson is able to make his character extremely likable and his questions about life seems rather genuine and realistic. There is something about his approach that makes the audience feel as though he truly wants to change and embark on a totally different direction in his life. Likewise, Rachael Taylor ("Transformers") is suitably and contrastingly free-spirited, as Lawson's turning point in life.

Director Rob Sitch is at home in depicting the urban life style of trendy Melbourne. His toying of the corporate world within the midst of the marketing trade can relate to a lot of people going about routine aspect of their own lives. The fact that Lawson got everything anyone would wish for in a great career and is still depressed make it all the more interesting. When he is willing to lose everything to start over again, that is the moment when Lawson is able to finally find himself and in the process making the audience question about their own lives and existence. Perhaps the defining scene of the movie is when Lawson is talking about his life story with a hall full of his old school students and not surprisingly no one has any questions for him.

All in all, "Any Questions for Ben?" is a good example of how to make a trendy and relevant Australian movie. Director Rob Sitch is able to show how important it is for everyone to question once in a while the reasons for our own existence and ask ourselves what it is that we are truly passionate about. In life, there is never a straight forward answer, sometimes, it requires us to dig deeper to find ourselves. Perhaps in the eyes of others, it is a waste of time, a stale in your career, but for one to life without regrets, there are times, when you just have to pursue it. (Neo 2012)

I rated it 8/10

Review at: http://thehkneo.com/blog/?p=2596

I have been waiting for a good Aussie movie that does not make Australia to look like a population of outback hicks.

This movie was done well and promoted a feel good mood, while it is not going to be a block buster, it did point out that Australia is a great place to live. Great job with the casting as well, Josh Lawson and Rachael Taylor played very convincing roles.

This was a light hearted feel good movie that I would heartily recommend, great job! Melbourne was included in some fantastic night and day shots which showed it for the great city it is.

But the main feature for me was how well the whole movie came together, and I particularly liked the humor in the ending credits.

I've never reviewed a film on here before, however I really feel compelled to write a review of this film. Normally my general feelings for a film will be reflected in it's IMDb score, averaged over 1000s of users. However for Any Questions For Ben, I would rate this much much higher than a <6. It's a great, easy to watch comedy, which much deeper messages.

I believe this film appears to the 20/30 something professionals, who have coasted along in life and found themselves somewhere they didn't originally think they'd be. It's funny, and charming, and quick paced. The editing is fine. I have absolutely no idea what all the bad reviews on editing are about. It's not massive budget Hollywood but it's extremely well done I think. I never got bored, I empathised with the characters, I enjoyed the excellent and appropriate soundtrack.. I found many of the conversations between different characters spot on, and underneath some of the lighthearted dialogue there's a much deeper message.

This film is great. Just give it a watch.

I'm a discerning movie watcher and it's very seldom I'll laugh out loud at a movie. In fact I generally tend to avoid comedies, too contrived, so little depth.

But this one really tickled my funny bone. I absolutely LOVED the humour, so much of it understated and easy to miss if you lost concentration. By the end of the movie I was splitting my sides over the bonus bits during the credits.

This movie also made me proud to be an Aussie. The locations were sophisticated and avoided the clichés. The dialogue was zany and the humour off-beat.

Yes, the actors looked a little older, but I was star-struck by Rachael Taylor. Why haven't I seen her before? What an extraordinary talent.

I thought the movie was really well written by four comedy writers who clearly had a lot of fun in the process. I thought the acting was exemplary and the casting was nothing short of genius.

I've been so disappointed to hear it didn't make zillions at the box office, I'd have figured this as the perfect date-movie. Like many long- time classics, perhaps it will enjoy a long and prosperous future after a mediocre initial reception. Hopefully more people like me will unexpectedly discover it and tell their friends.

A really beautiful romantic com that touches your heart. Visually stunning with the characters in all the right roles. Well worth the time 😀