Jeannie (Brenda Blethyn, SECRETS AND LIES) once faced a promising career as a stand-up comic but threw it all away when she moved to Australia to marry a one-hit wonder country singer. Now, her life is in a state of disarray; her husband has left her with two kids, one of whom is mentally challenged (Richard Wilson). Her other son, Tim (Kham Chittenden), is a sensitive boy who she has come to depend on far more than is healthy. Not only does she expect him look after his sick brother, but also to drive her to her local club gigs as she attempts a comeback. Complications arise when Tim meets Jill (Emma Booth), a cute, bright girl worth standing up to his mother for. Director Cherie Nowlan stages the ensuing family fracas in the style of Australia’s and England’s past working-class comedy hits, like MURIEL’S WEDDING and LIFE IS SWEET. This suits the larger-than-life talents of Blethyn just fine: over the top is her natural habitat and here she inhabits it body and soul. The broad comic strokes are nicely balanced by some subtle shading in the sensitive romance between Tim and his Jill. Chittenden is very likeable, and his sensitivity makes a nice foil for the histrionics on display. Still, it’s Blethyn’s show all the way (she also wrote much of her own stand-up material), and fans of her work in the films of Mike Leigh will be happy with the warm, improvisatory feel of much of CLUBLAND (or INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS as it's known in the United States).

This title has been rated 5 times.