A few Best Males

A Screen Australia, Arclight Films, Quickfire Films and Screen NSW presentation from the Parabolic Pictures and Stable Way Entertainment production in colaboration with Unthank Films, Story Bridge Films, Ingenious Broadcasting and Auburn Entertainment. (Worldwide sales: Arclight, Beverly Slopes/Sydney.) Produced by Shane Stallings, Laurence Malkin, Gary Hamilton, Antonia Barnard. Executive producers, Dean Craig, Josh Kesselman, Todd Fellman, Mark Lindsay, Ian Gibbins, James Atherton, James M. Vernon. Directed by Stephan Elliott. Script, Dean Craig.With: Xavier Samuel, Kris Marshall, Kevin Bishop, Tim Draxl, Olivia Newton-John, Laura Brent, Digital digital rebel Wilson, Jonathan Biggins, Steve Le Marquand, Elizabeth Debicki, Olivier Torr.Helmer Stephan Elliott strongly goes where very child wanted him to go to again -- toward "Thank you for going to Woop-Woop's" no-brow scatology -- while "Dying inside a Funeral" scribe Dean Craig recycles that hit's ideas in "A few Best Males," the kind of bottom-feeding yuckfest where a character's slip in dog poo within the first minutes sets the tenor for an additional 90 roughly. Obviously, that helps it be no dumberer than many recent mainstream comedies. But without their star energy, this tale of immature Englishmen mucking up a greater-well toned Aussie wedding looks destined mainly for home formats beyond Oz as well as the U.K. Getting met throughout an idyllic tropical-island holiday, college students David (Xavier Samuel) and Mia (Laura Brent) are mind over heels and headed toward the altar. Orphaned while very youthful, your daughter's groom must first announce this surprise news to his best mates: Obnoxious, arrogant Tom (Chris Marshall), bumbling Graham (Kevin Bishop), and self-pitying Luke (Tim Draxl), recently left by his g.f. Despite their less-than-magnanimous response to the marriage, with Tom particularly irked by David's "disloyality," all accept fly from London to Sydney for your large day. Improbably, that event can also be the first time David meets the in-laws and regulations and rules, a wealthy clan getting a rambling Nsw estate. Mia, her pretend-lesbian (only to upset Father) sis Daphne (Digital digital rebel Wilson), in addition to their proper mother, Barbara (Olivia Newton-John), have extended resigned themselves to dwelling within the controlling shadow of patriarch and political kingmaker Jim Ramme (Jonathan Biggins). But Father is positioning the naive Mia as his public-office successor thus, the wedding is virtually an ailment affair, designed to woo his allies into accepting a dynastic future. A mix of chance, ineptitude and outright maliciousness soon begins relaxing siege for the dignity in the event, including bachelor-party antics that leave Jim's mascot, "Ramsy," a superbly horned male sheep, in many highly compromised positions, by leaving a paranoid drug dealer (Steve Le Marquand) gunning to find the best males he assumes have conned him. You will discover top quality sight gags including sheep, additionally to some massive runaway floral arrangement. But mostly "A few Best Males" is just oafish, finding its metier in scatological jokes and verbal diarrhea. Pic makes "Dying inside a Funeral" appear like Noel Coward, lazily altering that film's titular event for just about any spousal affair, altering its hallucinogen interlude getting an extended, harder booze-and-coke one. Possibly worse is always that following a lot crass and mean-spirited nonsense, the pic pulls a maudlin about-face toward unearned sentiment. It really is depressing to look for the director of "The Adventures of Priscilla, Full in the Desert" leaning so heavily on gay-stress humor. Adding towards the overall air of witless self-satisfaction can be a soundtrack cluttered with limply remade bubblegum hits by prefab functions like the Monkees, Archies, Partridge Family, etc. Making fun of those musical flotsam is similar to shooting sea food in the barrel -- exactly the quantity of comic sportsmanship "Males" reflects throughout. The most effective you can say in regards to the thesps happens when their material were better, they'd have really risen for the occasion. Packaging is clever, beyond a few apparent background f/x likely to tart within the landscape's natural scenic beauty with heavy CGI facepaint. Attention-deficit editing frequently shortchanges the payback for your handful of half way decent jokes here.Camera (color, widescreen), Stephen Windon editor, Sue Blaney music, Guy Gross music, Warren Fahey, Michelle P Vries production designer, George Liddle art director, Hugh Bateup set decorator, Rebecca Cohen costume designer, Lizzy Gardiner appear (Dolby Digital/DTS), David Lee supervisory appear editor, Andrew Plain re-recording mixer, Gethin Creagh assistant director, N Antoniou casting, Christine King, Gart Davy, Anne McCarthy. Examined at Mill Valley Film Festival (World Cinema), March. 14, 2011. Running time: 91 MIN. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com