Mental (2012)

A charismatic, crazy hothead transforms a family's life when she becomes the nanny of five girls whose mother has cracked from her husband's political ambitions and his infidelity.

Director:

P.J. Hogan

Writer:

P.J. Hogan

Stars:

Toni Collette, Anthony LaPaglia, Liev Schreiber

1 win & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rebecca Gibney	...	Shirley
Hayley Magnus	...	Donna
Nicole Freeman	...	Leanne
Chelsea Bennett	...	Kayleen
Bethany Whitmore	...	Jane
Lily Sullivan	...	Coral
Holly Buchanan	...	Coral - 13yo
Malorie O'Neill	...	Michelle
Kerry Fox	...	Nancy
Sam Clark	...	Trout
Amanda Woodhams	...	Manda
Natasha Bassett	...	Kay
Liev Schreiber	...	Trevor
Caroline Goodall	...	Doris
Austin Caffin	...	Faceless Figure

Storyline

The Moochmore girls are certain they all suffer from some kind of undiagnosed mental illness - because if they're not crazy then they're just unpopular. Their mother Shirley - unable to cope with her demanding daughters and unsupported by her philandering politician husband, Barry - suffers a nervous breakdown. After Barry commits his wife to a mental hospital (telling his constituents that "she's on holiday") he finds himself alone with 5 teenage girls he barely knows. Desperate, he impulsively picks up a hitchhiker named Shaz and installs her in his home as nanny to his daughters.

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Plot Keywords:

australia | sister sister relationship | hitchhiker | family relationships | adultery | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Australia USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 March 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kaheli

Filming Locations:

Mt. Warning National Park, Murwillumbah, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$750, 5 April 2013, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$17,346, 7 April 2013

Company Credits

Production Co:

Screen Australia, Story Bridge Films, Zucker Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview on Australian television, P.J. Hogan said that Mental is autobiographical, that his own father had his wife committed, hired a hitchhiker to babysit his children - he trusted her because she had a dog - and later found out that she was an escapee.

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Goofs

When Mr. Moochmore sits down to the dinner the girls made, the first item from the food dishes he is offered is a piece of bread, which he places on his plate. He then starts to reach for the spoon in the bowl of peas. In the next shot, the bread is gone from his plate, and in its place is a half a cob of corn. He is shown again reaching for the spoon in the peas, yet there is already a small pile of peas on his plate, and the bread is being held out to be offered once more.

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Quotes

Shirley Moochmore: Are you one of Dr Thornbender's patients as well?
Sandra: Yep. And I love her. And I don't like whiteys as a rule, but Shaz... Shaz isn't white. She's a new colour. She's mauve.
Shaz: Awwwwww
Sandra: It's true, Shaz, you're mauve. You're fucking mauve. Now Shaz knows. She knows. She's gonna change your fucking life.
Shirley Moochmore: That's the impression I get.

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Connections

References The Sound of Music (1965)

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Soundtracks

So Long Farewell
Written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
Used by permission of Native Tongue Music Publishing obo Williamson Music, A Division of Rodgers & Hammerstein: An Imagem Company
Performed by Henry Choo and Antoinette Halloran
Produced and Arranged by Michael Yezerski

User Reviews

great movie!!!

Good quality humor, excellent actor performance, Toni Collette at her best and I can not imagine another actor acting better then her in this movie. Best movie of 2012 in this genre so far. Don't want to spoil it for anybody, the movie captures in a funny sarcastic manner the madness in which the present society is bathing. For thous who don't know Toni Collette, until this movie, I really recommend United States of Tara, the TV series. This actress really knows how to act as a mental person and know how to enter the character. Definitely I will buy the DVD for the collection and recommend it to everybody, especially to those with similar issues shown in the movie. Thank you P.J. Hogan for this movie!