Brenda Blethyn gives a ferocious performance in Cherie Nowlan's Australian dramedy, playing divorced Jean Dwight, who stays financially afloat by working in a cafeteria, but is frantic to recapture her long-ago glory days as a standup comedienne. The other Dwights include Jean's dutiful and virginal son Tim (Khan Chittenden), who is not only frustrated living under his mother's thumb, but also saddled with the responsibility of caring for his brain-damaged and spastic (yet also intelligent and charming) brother Mark (Richard Wilson). And there's ex-husband and father John (Frankie J. Holden)—a one-hit wonder singer who now works as a security guard at a grocery store. It's no surprise that this family is dysfunctional, as is the film itself, which mixes the story of high-strung Mrs. Dwight's doomed crusade to secure a gig at a real club, together with an American Pie-style narrative thread about Tim's romantic initiation, and periodic digressions focusing on Mark's wise-beyond-his-disability interventions. Introducing the Dwights is a contrived heart-tugger that probably wouldn't have worked even with subtle treatment, but here everything is hammered across, especially by Blethyn, whose shrillness quickly becomes exhausting. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)
Introducing the Dwights
Warner, 105 min., R, DVD: $27.99, Feb. 12 Volume 23, Issue 1
Introducing the Dwights
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