An Ideal Host

This tried way, way too hard. It was goofy, silly and ridiculous in a not good way. After the 10th time of HAHAHA SEE WHAT WE DID THERE, I shut it off.

But I love that there are 8's and 10's here, even though it's currently under a 6. Gotta trust these reviews.

I started watching this based on its high reviews. Then I came to the reviews in the middle of watching it and noticed how the reviews were mostly thumbs down. I see why and that's why it's important to have the thumb down feature. I'm a big fan of comedy and craziness, but this movie is no good. Maybe it's because I'm not Australian but I don't find any of this movie funny or entertaining in any way. The acting is not good and everything is forced. It's like some kind of improv theater group. And as the audience, I don't care about any of the people and I don't care that the party is not going as planned. The music is pretty decent, though.

This movie was FUN, from start to finish, in a variety of ways. I dont know about you, but thats the main reason that I watch a film. It started off like it was going to be a quirky rom-com(I knew it was a horror movie going in), and genuinely made me laugh out loud several times. The quirky "everything that can go wrong" style of humor seemed like it was going to go down one horror path and then completely took me by surprise by the direction it actually went. It maintained the humor through the second act while spinning a mystery, setting up the stakes, and dipping a toe firmly into a certain style or horror, while remaining light and fun. The final act then got BRUTAL. I was not ready for it given the light tone it had taken to that point, but I loved it. It went for it in a way that many bigger budget films should study and take notes on. The more blind you can go into this, the better off you will be.

Imagine that you planned the perfect dinner party and then things started to go a bit wrong. And then even more wrong. How wrong? The only way to describe it would be to compare this film to a movie where King Kong was tearing the Titanic apart just before it hit the iceberg. The action just keeps getting more and more extreme until it reaches complete madness, and it goes a few steps more. This movie is great fun if you have a taste for the absurd.

An Aussie Indy film, small budget, small cast, but it is neither deserving a highly rated score, nor bottom of the barrel ones. And it is best viewed without knowing anything about the movie. Liz and Jackson are planning a dinner party with their close friends, and are practicing their marriage proposal, as they want it just right. And after 10 years together, they decided it was the right time. Liz is one to want things perfect, and she has everything timed to the minute, from when the 'good' wine will be served to when dessert will be served. She gets up the next morning ready to set the table, but she has a problem deciding on the theme. And no one can possibly have as many different dinner sets as she has to go along with different decor themes. But there is a wrinkle, in that Daisy, who was not invited, is coming along with some other guests. Daisy is known as prone to drinking, and an overall disruptive force. Daisy arrives, and naturally starts to interfere with Liz's tight schedule. She immediately searches out the 'good' wine, not the regular wine before dinner Liz wanted to serve. And Mara, invited, can't help but keep reminding everyone she just got back from Bali. So there are plenty of conflicts, open and simmering that could upset the tight schedule Liz has set for the dinner. About 2/3 through the movie, there is an unexpected twist that no one could expect, and sends the movie in a much different direction. I don't think this is the strongest part of the movie.