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Plot synopsis In the isolated outback town of Sunray, unmarried sisters Dimity (Otto) and Vicki-Ann (Frith) share a house together. When Brisbane radio personality Ken Sherry (Shevtsov) moves into the house next door, having come to Sunray to escape the hustle and bustle of the "big" city, he manages to bring a good deal of excitement to the lives of Dimity and Vicki-Ann. With regards to available men in their town, the pickings have been extremely slim indeed. While the perky, elder Vicki-Ann bakes homemade casseroles as her means of seducing the impassive DJ, mousy Dimity inadvertently manages to get to him first via her own blunt maneuverings. As both sisters become more and more involved with their new neighbor, they begin to catch hints that the fishily mysterious -- and, truth be told, fairly unctuous, in his laidback sort of way -- Ken Sherry may be harboring a strange (to say the least) secret.
Review Australia
has a predilection for churning out oddball little movies with
over-the-top quirky characters (Muriel’s Wedding, The
Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Strictly Ballroom, just
to name a few of the better-known examples). Maybe the eccentric comedy
is as much a cliché in Australian cinema as those Meg Ryan
romantic-comedies are in mainstream Hollywood fare, but personally, I’ll
take the former just about any day. Love Serenade features all
the hallmarks of this seemingly uniquely Australian genre – small-town
setting, a slew of bizarre personalities, and an inexplicable obsession
with cheesy 70s music (in this case, Barry White). But, unlike the
fluffy Muriel’s Wedding for instance, Love Serenade is
far from just another quirky, light-hearted romantic comedy but rather
(and don’t let the box cover mislead you) a dark (though frequently
humorous) rumination on the differences between men and women, and the
claustrophobic nature of small-town life. If you’re easily weirded-out,
save yourself the $3 rental and skip it – you’re guaranteed to find
the story creepy. But for those of you looking for something just a
little – okay, maybe more – left of center, check out this edgy
feminist flick.
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