Mental [DVD]

a gonzo, goth mary poppins shows up and saves the bodies, minds and spirits of a family of girls and women from the horrors of a repressive culture and the damage and grief it is causing. total insurrection that is all for the good. tells the truth about society. overdrawn characters that are so true to type. I loved the trail of female style revenge that goes up against racism, sexism, classism and all the rest of the isms, oh, yes, narcissism... (restaurant girls and maybe pa) watched it. standing ovation for the last shot. Toni Collette can do no wrong. loved the writer, the actors (great group of young actors) There are several story lines. black comedy,happily ever after, revenge, parental love, tragedy. sort of what a clint eastwood plot might look like if written by a woman and created in suburban australia while on steroids and hallucinogens at the same time. beautiful and sentimental as well. what can I tell you? watch it to unravel the humane logic wrapped up in this crazy movie.

(Moderate Spoilers) "Mental" director P.J. Hogan also directed the immensely entertaining "Muriel's Wedding" (1994), also starring Toni Collette (huge fan), also set in Australia in a town with a funny name, also involving a councilman dad (Anthony LaPaglia) of a family in a 2-level home, and also involving lip-syncing popular tunes. But the similarities end there. Hogan seems to try hard to replicate the magic of MW and/or "The Sound of Music," but the results ultimately fall mostly flat (TSOM fans will probably have a love-hate relationship with "Mental"). Colette plays "Shaz" (how catchy), who is hired by a mostly absentee dad (LaPaglia) to watch his 5 young girls while their unstable mother is away, shall we say. Since the girls have endured their mom's mental health challenges and their dad's mental abuse via neglect, Shaz's ulterior motive is to help the girls feel good about themselves, a somewhat promising premise. But Hogan fills it with bad language, uncomfortable promiscuity involving the oldest girl (not exactly life-affirming), a main character (Collette) who you're not sure if you should like or dislike (involving her surprisingly bad treatment of the girls near the end), and 3 male characters who all give men a bad name. Also, the water park and doughnut shop scenes are alternately irresponsible (what an interesting example the oldest sibling was to her younger siblings and the actresses who played them) and just plain mindless. Very strictly for Collette fans; otherwise, you should feel safe passing on this one.

The title says it all - MENTAL. This screwball comedy is refreshing and insane...like most of its characters. This Australian film is very funny and insightful. Great acting by Toni Collette and Liev Schreiber...and the children are perfectly cast. I knew it was going be a little "out there" when the mom opens the film by singing "The Sound of Music" in front of the kids and neighbors. It's Looney Tunes time. But the thread in this film is much more meaningful than you would imagine at first. Great music...catchy quips and I love the dog "Ripper". If you want a good laugh, give this film a chance. I had to use the subtitle feature because the Aussie dialect is sometimes hard to understand. But that didn't hurt the film. Great stuff.

This is a gem of a movie! The Australians seem to have a grasp on mental health issues that all other movie makers miss completely. I wish Amazon would put more of their movies in this genre on their format because everywhere else all you get is the same old stupid stigma we shouldn't be reinforcing about this subject anymore in 2019. This is a truly incredible movie! Quite worth owning.

Fab flick with great characters and crazy is the word of the day here. Plenty of surprises when a dysfunctional family gains a temporary addition who may be the looniest of all of them. Solid performances, plenty of laughs...darn enjoyable. I have a soft spot for Aussie flicks and this one is fun!

I bought this because it's the same people that brought us Muriel's Wedding, which is an outstanding movie. However, this movie kinda drags. It's hard to assimilate with any of the characters and we turned it off after about 40 minutes. Really wasn't good at all.

This movie is a semi musical. Toni Collette does a fantastic job and thought the acting was well done by all. The plot is in the title, it’s a little metal and entertaining. If you liked Muriel’s Wedding and Sound of Music, you’ll like this.

I have always been a fan of Toni Collette's work. I passed by this movie several times as I thought it was just another poorly written or directed movie that it seems like so many well heeled actors have been picking up lately and audiences have been disappointed in. I finally was desperate for something to watch and so picked "Mental", while keeping my expectations low. It grabbed me right away with the opening sequence of this mother and her rendition of The Sound of Music. The movie was awkwardly funny, plot left you unaware of what was coming next, I laughed until I cried and then the serious moments through me for a loop, cried than too. Maybe it was just my day to feel "Mental", but this movie was such an unexpected surprise for me that I am proud to get a chance to put in a review and hope it encourages others to give it a chance, and than hang on for the ride!

Decent film ok comedy?

An absolutely dire film. Disappointing, as Toni Collette has been far better in other films that we've seen her in. Avoid.

A good watch if you like a film that lives up to it's title, Mental ! Film arrived early, thanks to a brilliant services