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It’s hard to love Jeannie Dwight. She’s an angry, washed-up comedian who torments everyone with her selfish behavior. And that’s when she’s not drunk.
Usually a lead character like this would sink a movie, but Introducing the Dwights stays afloat. Most of the credit goes to the indomitable Brenda Blethyn, who digs deep to find qualities in Jeannie that will earn the audience’s sympathy.
Once a rising star in her native England, Jeannie long ago followed her musician husband (Frankie J. Holden) back home to Australia, where they promptly had two sons and divorced.
Jeannie now works in a cafeteria, but she still craves the spotlight, and plays stand-up gigs in some of Sydney’s lower-tier nightclubs. She relies heavily on her oldest son, Tim (Khan Chittenden), who drives her around, works as a mover and helps care for his brother, Mark (Richard Wilson), who was brain damaged at birth.
© KansasCity.com
