Reviewed by Joelene Pynnonen

For the first time the foxy morons of Fountain Lakes are hitting our big screens with Kath and Kimderella. Set principally in Italy. Kath says it is the movie into which they have poured their ‘heart, soul, costumes and beautiful bodies – except for Sharon’.

When Kath Day-Knight wins a holiday to the Italian Kingdom of Papilloma, she is delighted. Kel is afraid of flying, however, so instead of a chance to spice up their flagging marriage; Kath is forced to take her spoilt daughter, Kim, along. Kim’s second-best friend, Sharon, joins them and the three set off for an all-girls holiday.

Finding that their hotel has closed, the trio are welcomed into King Javier’s (Rob Sitch) luxurious castle. But in idyllic Papilloma, not all is as it seems. The people live in poverty while King Javier sets his sights on Kath as a rich tourist. Alain, the mysterious page played by Richard E. Grant, regularly disappears into the dungeons, and the prince skulks the halls wearing a mask.

Kath and Kimderella is parody and fractured fairy-tale all rolled into one. While it has all of the characters and humour that audiences have come to expect from the TV series, there is so much more. While many sitcoms make the mistake of keeping the same formula when they go to the big screen, Kath and Kimderella breaks free of that. With an entirely new setting, a dash of fresh faces and all of the allusions to fairy-tales; there is no way that this movie could be written off as an extra-long TV episode.

Performances are good across the board. Jane Turner (Kath) and Gina Riley (Kim) stand out with their comedic timing and seeming ability to know exactly how far to push the joke. Magda Szubanski again plays a brilliant Sharon. But it is with the supporting cast that the performances reach another level. While Rob Sitch and Richard E. Grant have a presence about them that is distinctive from the characters we love in Kath and Kim, they manage to work their acting styles together to complement the original cast.

With enough set-up for people who are new to Kath and Kim, the pacing is fast enough to keep the interest of regular watchers. As silly as Kath and Kimderella can be, it’s an incredibly fun journey that fans will love.

by Joelene Pynnonen and The Spotlight Report

Event Cinemas at Garden City was all glammed up on Thursday the 30^th of August in preparation for the foxy ladies from Fountain Lakes. Hot pink balloons served as a guide up the staircase to where the crowd awaited. Even an hour and a half before the event the atmosphere was charged with subdued excitement that spiked a little with the arrival of every new Kath, Kim or Sharon look-alike.

 Fluffy blond perms and netball outfits abounded, as did skimpy frocks and outrageous bling. While the costumed fans waited for the stars they paraded on the red carpet. Having their photos taken by friends and media alike, they looked good enough to rival the real thing.

It was not to be. Kath, Kim and Sharon arrived amidst a chorus of cheers; dressed in their usual splendour. Their presence caused such a furore that for the first five minutes of their arrival, I could see no more than an occasional elbow from my place on the red carpet.

Despite the commotion, we did get the chance to speak to the Kath and Kimderella stars briefly. In her leopard-print onesie, Kath seemed well-qualified to point out the finer points of Italian culture.

SR. So you’ve had an all-girls holiday, how was that?

Kath: It was great! I mean Sharon and Kim aren’t the best travelling companions, because Sharon’s always sick and catching things and Kim is just a life-denying misery-guts. But I made the most of it. I tried to get away and have my down-time. A bit of me time.

SR. So how’d it go?

Kath: Oh, I just tried to run away from them as much as I could. But travel and me go hand-in-hand because I’m a very…I look around and I see. I’m very cultured. You know, I’ve done a lot of Tafe courses; I speak Italian, I’ve done art. In Rome we saw the Sixteenth Chapel, went to the Trevis fountain.  So we did the culture thing as well, so that’s me.

SR. So as far as the speaking Italian thing goes, were there any language barriers?

Kath: I did learn ‘neanco persono Jose’, which means ‘no way, Jose’. Because I got so many offers, you know.

Kim spoke of the difficulties faced by princesses like Kate Middleton and herself.

SR. Now we hear you’ve been having some lessons in being a princess. What would you say would be the most important one as far as that goes?

Kim: You know, I think being mean, I want to bring back capital punishment and ‘Off with your head’ because I want to say that as a princess. And I think K-Middy and me are on the same page with that one.

SR. Do you feel like maybe your rights are being violated because you don’t get to say that on a regular basis?

Kim: Oh, that’s right. I think people need more control. You know, I think people want – I think they want to be scared of their monarch so I think I’d be a pretty tough…Yeah, I’d be a tough monarch.

SR. What did you love most about Italy?

Kim: Well, I loved the guys ‘cos they all loved me. We did travel a bit. We went to Trevis fountain, the Colosseum, the Sixteenth Chapel. Yeah, it was really noice.

SR. How did Brett feel about all this?

Kim: Oh, Brett was ropable. He was left at home.

While Kath and Kim had been giving interviews Sharon was wowing the crowd with her gold-sequined netball uniform, posing for photos and signing signatures. Eventually she was persuaded to abandon her fans for a very short interview.

SR. Now we’re running a little bit late, so I’ll just ask the question on everyone’s mind. Holiday flings: did they happen?

Sharon: Ooh, look, I don’t pash and tell. Let me just say I had a fantastic time in Italy. You’ll have to watch the film to find out.

After some more photos, that was exactly what we did.

Been circling around this series for a while because I didn’t feel much like taking a trip through a violent, crude fictional world. And though I’m about to start season 4 now, I still have a part of me (the civilised, rational part) resisting the explicit violence and vigilante justice. I think when I was a younger I would have embraced it (and I look back at my Parrish Plessis series and see many of the same dynamics in play). But age brings a meta-conscience that is hard to switch off. Yeah, I’m in a pussy phase!

Anyway, despite the disclaimer, I’m a completely hooked. The acting is so good that it will be hard to ever consider those actors in any other parts. They seem to have got the energies and the sexual tension right on (superb casting) and the writing is an effective mixture of street, humour and philosophy. I love the way so many facets of life get a voice.

The exploration of family and loyalty and why people make the decisions they do is not new ground, but showrunner, series creator and writer, Sutter, handles it with honesty and just enough moments of light to balance what could be unremitting dark.

The series is addicitive pulp fiction but runs so deep on the exploration of the nature of men, their conflicting values and their mate-ship that it truly is the best kind of entertainment; meaningful while being hyper-real and exhilerating. “We blow shit up” is a seductive mantra.

The portrayal of issue of women in the series is a really interesting one. What could easily have been offensive and dismissive, is a realisitc and compelling reflection of women’s roles in a male-centric environment. The characters of Gemma and Tara are the anchor of the show – without them it would be a meaningless story.

I’m waiting with bated breath to see what Sutter’s end game is. It’s a long time since I’ve been so emotionally invested in a set of fictional characters – more so in some ways than some of the ones I’ve written myself (that’s how deep it goes for me!). Sutter has no fear, and I’m in awe of that – but there is a balance between letting the characters dictate their end and tearing the audiences heart out and making them wish they’d never heard of SAMCRO.

I’m on your side Sutter, don’t let me down!