Louise Alston

All My Friends are  Leaving Brisbane (M)

Author: Rosalie Higson

Accent (90 minutes) $29.95

* * * 1/2

        I ENJOYED watching this bunch of pretty young things trying to get their lives into some kind of order, fooling themselves they are swimming while mostly they are drowning, often in alcohol. Louise Alston’s debut feature about a young Brisbane woman having a quarter-life crisis is a light, fluffy souffle, with well-judged direction that overcomes its low budget. Stephen Vagg’s script captures the narcissistic habits of desperate and dateless 20-somethings caught up in their own angst. The casting is spot-on: Charlotte Gregg is Anthea, a young, blonde lawyer who should be success personified but can’t stand up to sexist bullying from her male colleagues and can’t decide whether to dump her job and travel, even though all her friends are doing just that. When it comes to love, she’s a disaster, mooning over lost loves, most of whom were rubbish (notably Underbelly’s Gyton Grantely as an ockerish, belly-scratching womaniser). Her mate Michael (Matt Zeremes) is a cow-eye’d, patient and sweet-natured young man. He also lacks the guts to go for what he wants in life: Zeremes is perfect as Anthea’s best friend without benefits. Though lightweight, the film taps into a few home truths. Wimpy Anthea and her girlfriends, wet Matt and all his dopey, randy mates, hold up a mirror to a scene that many a young and not-so-young viewer will recognise. And there’s the fun. We all know where the story is going, but Alston makes the journey worthwhile. Stock up on corn chips and tequila slammers.

EXTRAS: Behind the scenes; deleted scenes