Stiff

Australian telemovies have a reputation to uphold. They are supposed to be poorly written vehicles for our much trotted out band of thesps to portray clichéd characterization coupled with inane dialogue. I must say, I AM disappointed. What I witnessed tonight was an interesting storyline with believable characters and a very talented David Wenham giving my cynical mind a reprieve from the standard fare. Shame on you! I liked the program.

Wenhams' laconic Murray Whelan is certainly a treat to witness. He's like a scruffy Blue Heeler getting kicked from pillar to post but still keeps coming. You have to admire that sort of tenacity. I delighted in the gentle humour of the story and Murrays' optimism despite his train-wreck lifestyle.

Anyway, I was happy to see a production that did not contain the usual suspects and would welcome many more Whelan adventures. Top shelf.

No, that isn't the name of a Pub near my house, it is a description of this TV movie set in good IL' Melbourne, Australia.

Most people would recognise David Wenham from Van Helsing as Hugh Jackman's little off-sider, but he is the main star of this (hopefully) series of movies where he plays Murray Whelan who seems to end up in many awkward predicaments throughout the show.

It is probably aimed more at Australian audiences to be honest, but it is well written, well acted and very amusing in parts. Murray Whelan is a likable character which may explain why there are a couple of his adventures out there.

As far as a mystery goes, it wasn't terribly hard to work things out in the end, but as it is sort of set up as a potential series of films, it is very good at telling us about the character and giving us an understanding of what he's about.

Good to see a cameo of our state Premier in there too! Looking forward to more in the series.

This film, while written by a talented funny man, with a good acting line up, did nothing for me. It lacked a beginning, an ending and a plot. Finding a dead man then researching through everything, only to find Mr Whelan dogged by bad guys, and no link was ever established as to why. I expected better work from Aussie film makers. This only serves to send Australian films back 30 years when the merest hint of one sent shudders down my back. It wasn't funny, not even amusing, it totally sucked. An awful lot was said about fictional and notable Turkish names of employees at the meatpacking plant, yet no connection was established with them and that exclusive club, and having politicians playing cameos was just plain silly. Are Australian writers wanting to lose out to big budget companies in America when it comes to quality TV movies? The Australian public deserve better than the trash it currently gets. I'll give it a 1/10 and that's being nice.

An amusing and entertaining TV-movie, "Stiff" showcases David Wenham as Murray Whelan, political fixer and amateur investigator.

It made me laugh with its combination of in-jokes, political cameos, and physical humour: in this respect, the translation from the page to the screen allowed the telemovie to become the superior story - however, the detail of the book was obviously missing in the adaption.

Finally, Wenham came across as a cross between his characters Jim Doyle ("The Bank") and Johnny Spitieri ("Gettin' Square"): Knowledgeable but also slightly sloppy and tired. The supporting cast did a great job, as did John Clarke on the story adaption.

All up, Three and a Half out of Five.

I just saw the network premiere of this film, and I must say that I wasn't completely sure what to make of it. I was often left wondering where the direction of the movie was going, and the climax wasn't overly climactic. I did find it, however, to be easy to enjoy and relaxing to sit through.

David Wenham plays a lovable, struggling father, if not a bit of a nimrod, but all of those qualities are endearing to his character. It's an ironic look at an Aussie battler getting in over his head with a kind of low-key Turkish mafia mob. The irony is, his life is as stiff as the body he's sent to investigate, and everything kind of snowballs into chaos from there. In the process of turning his life upside down, things somehow result in being the right way up, or at least acceptable.

A lot of the humour in this movie is very dry, and that's maybe why it appealed to me. I really enjoyed Wenham's character, and especially the way he deals with his problems. Or doesn't. I think more attention should have been paid to the villains and fleshing out that plot line for more impact at the conclusion of the film. Still, I really liked it, but I don't expect every will.