Strange Planet Reviews

Six lost souls find each other in between one New Year's Eve and the next, but must navigate the serio-comic pitfalls of the Australian singles' scene play. The New Year holds out little romantic promise for roommates Sally (Alice Garner), Alice (Naomi Watts) and Judy (Claudia Karvan). Free-spirited Sally works in an occult shop and consults the stars about Mr. Right; college dropout Alice pumps espresso at a coffee bar and settles for flirting with the occasional male customer. Judy, who's more ambitious than her flat-mates and wants a career in television production, is hired by radio therapist Amanda Shoemaker (Rebecca Frith) to be her assistant. Judy has no compunction about sleeping with Amanda's estranged husband, Steven (Hugo Weaving), who's both attractive and a successful television producer. Steven's romantically challenged attorney, Ewan (Tom Long), commiserates with his friend, Joel (Aaron Jeffrey), whose wife abruptly leaves him without explanation. Commitment-phobic Ewan loses his pregnant live-in lover, who has an abortion and sets her sights on someone more supportive. Neal (Felix Williamson) is less confident than either Ewan or Joel; in fact, he's so bashful around the opposite sex that he signs up with a scientific matchmaking firm. Neal's loveless marriage eventually proves that chemistry can’t be calculated. Throughout the year, Sally plays the field, Judy falls futilely for Steven and Alice tries to overcome her sexual timidity. In an ironic twist, Amanda loans the women her house for New Year's Eve at the same time Steven offers it to his buddies: After 364 days of dashed hopes, the cynical sextet is thrown together. Though released in the US after the remake of THE RING (2002) made Watts a household name, she doesn't really stand out from the ensemble cast. All the actors do their best to make this pleasant fluff seem more rewarding than it actually is, but you’ve seen it all before and you’ll see it all again.