|
For those seeking an alternative to giant robots and flying wizards, there's an amusing Australian comedy that might be just the right panacea for blockbuster overload.
Introducing the Dwights is funny and poignant, with a tour-de-force performance by British actress Brenda Blethyn. It features a pleasant and slightly unusual coming-of-age story about Tim (Khan Chittenden), a teenage boy, and his overbearing mother (Blethyn). She also has a disabled son, Mark (Richard Wilson), whose portrayal is astute and never insulting or stereotypical.
Blethyn sometimes goes over the top in her bawdy performance as a struggling stand-up comic, and the character can certainly get on your nerves, but that's precisely the point.
We can see how Tim and Mark are struggling to keep from letting their loving but manipulative mom control their lives and direct their identities.
© USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
