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Stand-Up comedians tend to make fascinating movie characters, particularly when they bomb. It's hard to know where to look when the matronly Jean (Brenda Blethyn) takes to the stage of a Sydney RSL club, simpering at her audience and cracking jokes about sexual disappointment that might have seemed daring in 1972. Even from the safety of the movie theatre, the spectacle of failed humour induces a special kind of embarrassment. But what if "Australia's raunchiest homemaker" was also your mother?
That's the situation for the hero of Clubland, the easygoing Tim (Khan Chittenden). In his early 20s and still living at home, he remains under the thumb of the domineering Jean, even using his furniture removal truck (which she helped finance) to drive her to gigs. Privately, he's aware that he has to strike out on his own - but even with the help of accommodating new girlfriend Jill (Emma Booth), the odds are not in his favour.
© The Age
