'Dwights' tackles universal theme in small, personal way

By BETSY PICKLE
Scripps Howard News Service
Thursday, August 02, 2007

Anyone who's ever had a mom should relate to "Introducing the Dwights."

An Australian drama about family loyalty, unrealized ambitions and the inevitability of the human sex drive, "Introducing the Dwights" is funny, painful, sweet and insightful. It's a small, personal film, but it's big in terms of how universal it is.

More than most films that are populated by supposedly everyday folks, "Introducing the Dwights" feels like a story about real people living in an ordinary world. Brenda Blethyn ("Lovely & Amazing") plays Jean, a divorced middle-aged woman who works at a canteen and lives in the suburbs with her adult sons, Tim (Khan Chittenden), a shy mover, and Mark (Richard Wilson of "The Proposition"), who is chatty and personable but can't be left on his own due to his mental disability.

Jean's promising career as a comedienne was cut short by marriage and family. She keeps her dream alive, however, by performing comedy at a local club. In fact, her show-biz extracurriculars take up about as much time as her day job. She also coaches children for talent shows, and she's always looking for bigger gigs.

Tim and Mark are supportive of Jean -- not that they have much choice -- and Jean is determined to keep her boys close. Then Tim meets Jill (Emma Booth), who may be slightly worldlier than Tim but is just as insecure, and their fledgling romance brings out both Jean's claws and long-buried resentments.

Director Cherie Nowlan and screenwriter Keith Thompson give Blethyn all the tools to make Jean the world's most embarrassing, vicious and manipulative mother, but they also let her have the room to explore her options and find a new path. Blethyn is always fantastic, but here she creates a character so strong and believable that it's breathtaking.

Chittenden, who's like a hunkier Aussie version of "Arrested Development's" Michael Cera, is incredibly sympathetic as Tim, while Booth displays a full palette of emotions across her expressive face. Wilson is wonderful as the fragile but loving Mark.

"Introducing the Dwights" has a few broad, stock characters filling in the background, but the main figures are believable and compelling. It's a film that feels like a friend.

Rated R for sexual content and language.

Four stars (out of five).