BLURRED

Australia, 2003, 90 minutes, Colour.
Tony Brockman, Travis Cotton, Jamie Croft, Jessica Gower, Craig Borna, Mark Priestley, Charlotte Rees, Natalie Roy, Kristian Schmid, Veronica Sywak.
Directed by Evan Clarry.

Blurred is an Australian attempt to recreate the spring break youth comedies of the 1980s. It is obviously influenced by American Pie and Road Trip, although it is not quite as crass as those two American films.

The situation is the end of school, the final week and exams. It is alleged that 70,000 school-leavers make for the Gold Coast to celebrate in the week after the end of school. The focus is on sex and drugs and rock 'n roll. The point of this film is not the party when they get to the Gold Coast, but rather the difficulties in getting there, an Australian road trip by bus and train and car. The film tries to have its cake as well as eating it by introducing two characters who seem to be very serious, Peter and Freda. The rest of the cast have the opportunity to let their hair down.

The film is not particularly well acted or directed. It is based on a play by the screenwriter Stephen Davis.

The question is whether this is typical Australian behaviour, whether so many of the students go for this kind of Schoolies' Week - which, at least on the Gold Coast, seems to be fostered by the radio stations.

In terms of focus for discussion, there are various groups on their way:

Peter and his two friends in the bus, they have the radio on very loudly and upset the bus driver and other passengers; they are put off the bus and have to hitch-hike. The couple eventually marry and live happily ever after with twins. Peter, on the other hand, meets up with Freda on the beach and they talk seriously.

Freda, a bespectacled school leaver, very anxious with the noise of the party upstairs, which is quite crass, vomiting, hiring a stripper, trying to involve her in their activities, eventually ending up on the street. Freda, on the other hand, goes down to the beach and meets Peter.

There is a couple on the train, but he wants to be free for the week to do his own thing, but is very critical of her having the same kind of freedom. She pulls the emergency cord and gets off the train, inviting a seemingly nerdy young fellow to come and have sex with her. They go to various places to try to find condoms and eventually she abandons him. The young man on the train, however, sits opposite a drugged-out young woman and shares the drugs with her. There are two country types, who are in an old car, race a limousine, crash, try to get a lift, meet a pig man and have to escape from his mad clutches.

There are two rich girls in a limousine, intending to join up with Freda. However, they want to play sexual games with their chauffeur, eventually getting him to wear their dress and abandoning him at a service station. He finishes up being taken away by the pig man.

There is tongue-in-cheek humour in the final credits which gives an indication of what happens to all the characters afterwards.

While the Australian industry might have to have its spring break, Schoolies' Week kind of comedy, it is a pity that it cannot do better than merely ape some of the aspects of American comedy and not do something with a bit more substance.