Mental

I'am such a fan of Muriel's Wedding. I consider it the complete coming of age comedy, not only for Muriel herself but for Australian Comic Cinema as well. P.J Hogan provided us with a gem.

While watching Mental I couldn't help but wonder if P.J. was just trying to revisit the wondrous experience of 15 years ago and expecting it to be just a exhilarating. So much of the colour and strangeness of characters were evident. He must have been disappointed.

Sadley Mental falls well short of Muriel's. So far short that I didn't even have to rake the long jump pit. There were no foot marks.

It is not that the characters don't bring something to the film, most of the cast is terrific, it is the muddled plot and complicatedness of the character interactions which causes most disappointment.

Toni Collette (Shaz) tries hard to bring Mental out of it's intoxicated trance but nothing can save this "stinker"; not even methane and lighter fluid.