The Brush-Off

September. 05,2004      
Rating:
6.9
Trailer Synopsis Cast

The political adviser to Australia's Minister of the Arts investigates the suspicious death of a disgruntled artist.

David Wenham as  Murray Whelan
Mick Molloy as  Angelo Agnelli
Deborah Kennedy as  Trish
Steve Bisley as  Eastlake
Justine Clarke as  Salina
Leah Vandenberg as  Claire Sutton
Andrew S. Gilbert as  Duncan Keogh
Heather Mitchell as  Fiona Lambert
Bruce Spence as  Philip Veale
John Clarke as  Ken Sproule

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Reviews

FeistyUpper
2004/09/05

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

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Jenna Walter
2004/09/06

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

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Zandra
2004/09/07

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

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Zlatica
2004/09/08

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

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wombat_1
2004/09/09

This, the second of the Murray Whelan acdmms, follows the same successful formula as the first. Murray Whelan is an untidy but lovable guy, who stumbles his way through the world trying to serve his masters and love his son, with mixed success. About half way through the movie my wife made the very perceptive comment that everyone so far was playing an idiot; and in a perverse way, that's what makes the humour, even though we wouldn't normally laugh at an idiot per se. The plot is about art fraud. Not that that is relevant to anything, other than it allows Bruce Spence to play either a gay or merely very foppish role, which he clearly does with great relish.This is the sort of movie that experienced actors such as Spence, Steve Bisley, Mick Malloy and John Clarke can play in their sleep, and possibly do. It'll never be considered a classic movie, but then again, there is no expectation that it would be. One of the secrets of Paul Hogan's success was that he didn't flood our TV screens with his show, and this movie is equally coy. It's only the second Murray Whelan this year, and one every six months does indeed seem to be the right amount. This would never form the basis of a weekly comedy show, and wisely, it is apparently not going to become such. Many of the gags are telegraphed well in advance (eg, the characters that Murray meets in the elevator), as in often the case with John Clarke, but that doesn't take away from their punch.Sam Neill is listed as director, and he did a good job. I would have liked to have seen him in the movie as well. And by the way, the acdmm quote in the Summary above is from the TV station promo when John C and Sam N were discussing what these movies would be.In summary, a good movie to see and enjoy once, delivering exactly what it promised.

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