Paperback Hero

The acronym K.I.S.S., meaning Keep It Simple Stupid came to my challenged mind while I watched Paperback Hero, the latest Aussie film on show.

And this isn't a criticism of the film. Paperback Hero is simple. It's a pleasurable comedy romance which stars Aussie would be pin up Hugh Jackman and the always loveable Claudia Karvan. It is kept simple, especially the style of acting, and that's its charm.

The plot isn't complicated by anything much more complicated than a smiling dog. Paperback Hero is sweet and unaffected just as films should be, every now and then.

Jack in Paperback Hero has written a women's novel but being a tough truckie doesn't want to put his name to the book. He uses his old mate Ruby Vales name (Claudia Karvan) but doesn't tell her.

Australian bush comedies often end up being somewhat embarrassing lampoonings of our precious heritage. Paperback Hero has stock bush pub characters but somehow manages to avoid making them seem ridiculous even if the film is a comedy.

A lightness of touch from new director Antony Bowman allows Paperback Hero to exhibit our more strident rural identities without causing a cringe. He should have a good handle on the plot though. He apparently wrote the novel upon which the film is based.

The language is often colourful but is uttered in the natural way we know is correct. The plot does get a bit fuzzy, especially with regards to Ziggy, but that's more than compensated for by big natural smiles from two very appealing lead actors.

The film "Paperback Hero" is the latest Australian film to make it's way overseas. Starring Claudia Karvan and Hugh Jackman, "Paperback Hero" will delight anyone who enjoys a good romantic comedy.

Karvan and Jackman are well known in Australia, Karvan as a film actress and Jackman as a musical theatre actor. Both are well cast in their roles as a brash, independent pilot (Karvan) and a novel writing truck driver (Jackman).

The storyline is simple but entertaining. Ruby Vale (Karvan) and Jack Willis (Jackman) live in a small outback Australian town. Jack writes romance novels while working as a truck driver. Embarrassed about his hobby, he uses Ruby's name when he sends his novel to a publisher. It becomes very complicated when the novel is accepted for publication and Jack must convince Ruby to help him.

The film is very Australian, but will not in any way alienate overseas viewers. The movie was mainly filmed in rural Queensland and makes the most of the outback landscape. The Australian accent is not exaggerated (a pet hate of mine).

Give this film a go if you are a fan of romantic comedies. The Australian film industry is producing quality work and "Paperback Hero" is an example of this.

While this is not Romeo and Juliet, neither is anything else, except for Romeo and Juliet. (And, if I dare speak the heresy, it seems to me that even with that august work, for those of us who are not English Lit graduates the enjoyment would be enhanced if 'twere rendered into more accessible English, without losing the rhythm).

Finally, an Australian filmmaker has (largely) resisted the temptation to portray rural Australians as cardboard Bruces and Sheilas that say 'fair dinkum' and call each other 'cobber' with thick, fabricated accents, a too-common tendency that has held the otherwise sophisticated local film industry back for years.

This is a simple enough romantic tale of boy/girl finding each other - after the catalyst of being thrown together through circumstance lets them break through the barrier of friendship - and it is a movie that is hard not to like. If it does not move you greatly, it should at least cheer you up.

This is a fantastic movie and is very special to me and lot of my friends as the pub used in the movie is the "Nindi Gully" Pub, in outback Queensland, where we spend New Years Eve most years, the place comes alive with the roaring utes and New Year spirits! I think this movie is a great romantic comedy- the actors did a superb performance and it wasn't like all those other Australian movies which make us look bad, sound bad and have no tact. I recommend this movie to anyone who wants a good laugh. A great movie and a credit to Australia.

Sometimes it's good to watch a film that tells a simple story well, has characters who are all decent human beings, has actors who play those characters straightforwardly and sympathetically, and doesn't take itself too seriously. This is one of those films.

Australia has only a small film industry by world standards, and it suffers from the fact that when anyone of real talent emerges, he or she is invariably whisked off to the dollars of Hollywood very rapidly, so that most of our best people, not only actors but directors and all the others who work to make a film, don't make films in Australia. It's therefore a welcome surprise when an Australian film turns out to be good. One very common problem is the lack of good screenplays: most of them have fundamental problems of structure, and nearly all of them have not been developed sufficiently. This one's a good one. The idea of a truck driver writing Mills and Boon romances is interesting in itself; the enlisting of a local girl to "front" for the real author is a predictable but acceptable nest step: and the romance that slowly but surely emerges out of the background to take over towards the end is also predictable but very nicely and gently done.

The film didn't make much of a public stir when it was released, in fact I don't recall it in cinemas at all. It comes up every now and again on TV, and it's much underrated. It also deserves a much higher user rating than its current 6.1. Perhaps it's the lack of pretension itself that leads viewers to mark it down.

If you're looking at IMDb wondering whether to bother with this film, then my suggestion is to bother. It won't change your world, but it will amuse you and leave you feeling happy.