“The Castle”
directed by Rob Sitch

You'll bless Butler for this one.

Why? Because it's not only the funniest Australian comedy ever made --- but then, how many Australian comedies can you name? --- it's one of the most amusing comedies anyone's made in the past few years.

Filmed in just 11 days and released in 1999, “The Castle” made the rounds of American art theaters, convulsing tiny audiences. Before they had to a change to make their loved ones see it, it was gone. But the Gods of DVD have intervened, and now you can get your mitts on the most loving, funny, feel-good movie since….gee, it's been so long that Butler 's memory fails.

“The Castle” is inspired by the old saw: “A man's home is his castle.” That is the view of Darryl Kerrigan, an Aussie laborer who lives in a house so close to an airport that planes seem to be crash-landing on his head. Who would want such real estate? As it happens, the airport would --- it needs to expand. And so Darryl is offered a tidy sum of money to move.

The thing is, Darryl and his family love their home. There's no check big enough to make them sell. Their neighbors feel the same way. And so they fight back, first using a broken-down comic hack of a lawyer named Dennis DeNuto, and then….but that starts to give away too much.

What you do want to know is that your initial view of the Kerrigans is very very wrong. It can't be helped --- they seem like idiots, you have to laugh at them. But as you watch, your feelings will change. You'll start laughing at repeated lines you once thought inane, namely “Ah, the serenity!” and “He must be dreaming” and “It's the vibe.” Soon you're not laughing at them, but with them. And hoping, in the words of one of the many mottos of the Texas Rangers, “ Little man whip a big man every time if the little man is in the right and keeps on coming.”

Lovable characters, a plot that children can grasp, no sex, only a few “curse words” --- this is that rarest of fun: fun for the whole family.

--- by Jesse Kornbluth, for HeadButler.com

To buy “The Castle” from Amazon.com, click here.

Copyright 2004 by Head Butler Inc.