SnoReptilePlenty
Memorable, crazy movie
AutCuddly
Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,
Deanna
There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
Flickred
I love Australian films. This film is in our keepers file along with The Castle. I am certain I could watch it 100 times & still have a good laugh. I've read some reviews that this film was similar to Muriel's Wedding, "What the?". Ignore these reviews, Mental is nothing like Muriel's Wedding. How can someone tackle a major issue such as Mental Health so thoughtfully, creatively and skillfully? The story line holds so much weight, the actors give the characters so much depth and the humour hits a level you only get to reach so often. I am astounded at the quality of this film. If for some unfortunate reason you don't enjoy this film then do yourself a favour... consider having your mental health assessed.
cinema kat
Toni Collete is outstanding as Shaz, her performance is only one good reason to see this film; love, love, love it!! Worth seeing. Enjoyed the wit, humor and found myself identifying and empathizing with a few of the characters; having dealt with mental illness in my family, this film pinpoints and illustrates family dynamics with humor and style. Enjoyed the references to another favorite, "Sound of Music," which this film inspired me to watch again with my exchange student daughter...she and I had a great time sharing both films. Mental had me laughing till the credits rolled and was truly entertaining on many levels.
asjsolomons
i am making a list of every reviewer who gave this movie a positive review and marking them never to read again as they have nothing to offer me when it comes to recommending movies. i was shocked to find out that it was the same director as Muriel's wedding but i then read he also did my best friends wedding and on remembering that singing scene at the restaurant were they all joined in it made perfect sense.(i say a little prayer for you!CRINGE) i am just so glad i didn't waste my money and time seeing it at the cinema but i am sorry i read the first 2 pages of user reviews on this site as it is not until the 3rd page that the truth comes out. for the first time ever i nearly asked video ezy for my $5.95 back but its not there fault.
bwanabrad-1
A dysfunctional family on the Gold Coast is set to implode, due to the father's constant philandering and the mother's inability to control her five daughters. The long suffering mother played with great sympathy by Rebecca Gibney, takes to singing songs from The Sound Of Music in her backyard which horrifies her straight laced neighbors. She is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, her husband doesn't even know who his daughters are, while they in turn imagine all sorts of symptoms of their own, to hide the one essential fact that they are unpopular because the community sees their mother as a bona fide nut case. He has his wife committed to an institution, but in a move that is typical of how this illness is regarded, her condition is covered up, by saying she has gone on holiday. This explanation was a common lie, and has been used for decades, it was the same lie told about my own mother many times over, who suffered a series of severe 'mental breakdowns' throughout her entire adult life. Into this domestic maelstrom strides an eccentric non–conformist (Colette) who we instantly know will set about restoring this family unit, by using unorthodox methods. Instead of getting them to conform in a military style take over, she takes the girls on a journey of self discovery, to embrace their eccentricities and discover their inner strengths. She speaks from her heart based on her own experiences which hint at dark secrets from her past. There are people who will criticize this film as dismissing a serious topic to get a few cheap laughs, and at times the film even resorts to crude slapstick. Nothing could be further from the truth. What this film stresses time and time again is the need for sympathy, empathy and a measure of acceptance when things are beyond our immediate understanding. Collette is outstanding as Shaz, who is part life coach, part manipulator, part politician and wholly anarchic. She is given solid support by newcomer Lily Sullivan who plays the oldest of the daughters, Coral. In many ways this film is a female rites of passage film about Coral, but it is much, much more than that. A little film that proves the old adage, that sometimes laughter is the best medicine, while at the same time providing plenty of food for thought on a serious issue.
