A FEW BEST MEN (2011)

Genre: Comedy
Director: Stephan Elliott
Cast: Olivia Newton-John, Rebel Wilson, Xavier Samuel, Kevin Bishop, Kris Marshall, Elizabeth Debicki, Laura Brent, Tim Draxl, Steve Le Marquand
RunTime: 1 hr 37 mins
Rating: M18 (Crude Humour & Drug Use)
Released By:  Encore Films
Official Website: http://www.afewbestmenthemovie.com/
 
Opening Day: 14 June 2012

Synopsis: When David travels to Australia to marry the love of his life, his three best men give a whole new meaning to the phrase 'for better or worse'. The chaos‐filled wedding is a classic culture clash between his friends and her family because blood is thicker than water and so are David's mates!

Movie Review:

It isn’t the most original idea to have a movie on how your best pals could ruin your big day, or more accurately, ruin your life. Last year, we’ve seen how it could be done in the Bridesmaids. What then could Australian director Stephan Elliott possibly offer that is different and entertaining?

Stephan Elliot’s formula this time is nothing fanciful; it is all about following what he believes to be enjoyable and ‘doing things his way’. David (Xavier Samuel) meets the girl of his life, Mia (Laura Brent), unexpectedly as he was on a trip on self-discovery. He then decides to propose to this stranger who he grew to love so much, that he’d want to spend his entire life with. Little did he know what ‘worlds apart’ could mean at that point of time.

As he broke the news to his pals, namely the free-spirited Tom (Kris Marshall), timid Graham (Kevin Bishop) and the ever depressed Luke (Tim Draxi), they were invited participate in his wedding as he considers them his only family. Their unfortunate turn of events began as David brings along his pals from England all the way to Australia to meet up with Mia’s affluent family, whose father happen to be a known figure in Australia’s political scene. 

One would expect some good British humour from the four charming young Englishmen. However, that was clearly missing. Most of the jokes turn out to be distasteful and unsatisfying. The attempt at achieving slapstick humour proves to be futile as well. It’s not crude enough, not embarrassing enough… neither here nor there. 

The bulk of the jokes were made out of three main topics, namely alcohol and drug abuse, culture clash and Ramsy, Mia’s father’s prized possession (which he strongly believed propelled his political career). As you could already tell at this juncture, these simply seem like some unrelated and ridiculous happenings being forced together. Right, I hear it, hardly entertaining. Indeed that’s that and in the end, you may pity the poor innocent ram that was being pranked and made a joke out of.

Plot-wise, there was nothing refreshing or surprising as well. Every twist and turn is predictable and expected. Also, English-Australian singer/actress Olivia Newton-John probably chose the wrong movie to be featured in. Honestly, her role seemed nothing more than a disfranchised and frustrated woman approaching menopause. 

Although Stephan Elliott had his past success with The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert back in the 1990s, he still didn’t manage to make the much needed break through with A Few Best Men. Times have changed since then, with more informed and good taste audiences. Truth is, people no longer settle for mediocre films these days.

Movie Rating:

(A messed up chain of events that is bland and far from gratifying)

Review by Tho Shu Ling