Strange Planet (1999)

Strange Planet captures a year in the intertwined lives of a gaggle of young Australians. Judy (Claudia Karvan) aspires to work in television and gets involved with an older tv executive (Hugo Weaving, The Matrix, Proof). Judy's roommate Alice (Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive, The Ring) struggles to get over a breakup after two years; Joel (Aaron Jeffery) is reeling from the collapse of his marriage; Ewan (Tom Long) loses faith in being a lawyer and becomes a taxi driver. It's a bit like an elaborate episode of Friends, except that Strange Planet dives into much richer and more complex emotional territory. Comic discussions about biology and love are counterpointed by doubt, loss, and simple confusion--which the sharp writing, directing, and acting manages to make real while maintaining a fluid and dexterous storyline. The conclusion may be too tidy, but you'll feel like these well-drawn characters have earned it. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

an indie aussie film about relationships...

i found this at the library. most of the movies i watch are indie or foreign films. i like the indie stuff, because most indie filmmakers concentrate more on content rather than action or special effects. naomi watts( the ring 1 and 2) is good here as a woman getting over getting dumped. the guy who dumps her in the scene is a cad and is throughly heartless about it. hugo weaving ( the matrix ) is a womanizing television executive who has a fling with judy, who knows he's married, but jumps into it in order to further her career. Tom is a womanizer who has commitment issues. in one scene, the woman he gets pregnant calls him up to tell him that she's going to get an abortion, he's about as sympathetic to her as if she's gotten a tooth pulled. none of these characters were clearly good or bad, which was why i liked them. December 8, 2005

Good laugh, great soundtrack, well worth a look.

A film in the mould of "This Years Love" and "Peters Friends", Strange Planet follows the ups and downs in a year of the lives of six twentysomethings living in Sydney, Australia.

It is a film that delves into the insecurities, hopes and dreams of the young professional set. But it avoids the temptation to become maudlin and weepy, remaining upbeat at all times. One character, Ewan, collapses into depression, but after watching the movie Taxi Driver, assumes DeNiro's role with hilarious consequences.

In another potentially weepie moment one of the girls dumps her married boyfriend at a costume party where his dracula outfit is a perfect counterpoint to his hangdog expression as he gets the push.

The girls are all beautiful, the boys handsome but mildly pathetic, which is just about right for the movie. The characters are a little forced but they aren't overdone, so they work. We have a girl who is sleeping her way to a career, her slightly manic compulsive friend who can't get her life toghether after being dumped and their more frumpy but wild mad hatter alternative friend. Does that sound a bit like Rachel, Monica and Phoebe from friends?

The guys are a science freak who is desperate to be married, a workaholic lawyer who's girlfriend dumped him for another girl, and the disenchanted lawyer who becomes a taxi driver and novelist. There are bound to be similarities drawn between these and the characters in friends, but they are likely to be forced.

The end of the movie is rounded off nicely with a perfect conjunction of all the disparate elements and characters in a typical Austrialian beach celebration of the New Year.

Excellent, well worth a look. February 3, 2004

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