It’s been a long time between films for production company Working Dog. Entering the movie business with ‘The Castle’ and ‘The Dish’, the local film-makers return after a 12 year hiatus. Maybe their time creating mass entertainment for commercial TV has blunted their comedic edge as ‘Any Questions for Ben?’ is sorely lacking laughs. Where ‘The Castle’ gently mocked suburbia and ‘The Dish’ softly lampooned country life, their new venture targets the Generation X brigade with less success.
Ben’s (Josh Lawson) is a high flying executive living life in the fast lane. Barely having time for lasting relationships and constantly on the go his life changes when he returns to his old school for a Q & A session. Not asked a single question by the students and upstaged by lawyer Alex (Rachael Taylor) he begins to examine why. Thinking something is missing he embarks on a journey of self-discovery to re-evaluate his achievements and set new ones.‘Any Questions for Ben?’ proves an over-written screenplay can be ruinous. While it has good moments, there aren’t enough with a main character difficult to like. It isn’t a fault of the actor who plays him – who conveys a degree of genuine charm – but the believability factor in his character’s actions. It’s very difficult imagining such a selfish person would immediately change his ways with his circle of friends portrayed as stock standard urban caricatures.
The constant repetition of scenes is another problem. Ben and other characters keep on having the same soul searching conversations going nowhere. The endless shots of Melbourne which admittedly are amazing, and the pointless musical montages reeks of creative laziness. It is mystifying why the Working Dog team have dropped the ball so badly when previous movies worked so well. For a comedy there’s little mirth with the rambling narrative failing to successfully mix humour and drama.
Poorly structured and written ‘Any Questions for Ben?’ is a mis-fire from Working Dog that’s not particularly memorable. Perhaps a movie based on their famous ‘Frontline’ or ‘D-Generation’ TV series would have been much better as their latest work fails to utilise their noted skills.
Rating out of 10: 3
Reviewed by: Patrick Moore
Hattam McCarthy Reeves
Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers
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