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did you book that guy? He’s a Las Vegas guy! But his last albums have been rock and soul and blues!’
Blues zealots have questioned some of the lineup, in particular the inclusion of Tom Jones.
This year also sees Boomerang programming included within the greater event of Bluesfest.
‘He is a great singer,’ says Noble. ‘People say – Sir Tom Jones, why
‘Boomerang would like to be a standalone event. Rhoda Roberts
wrote 92 submissions to corporate sponsors and arts grants last year. It’s like a maze; you go into the maze, but pretty soon you realise there is no cheese. I believe a number of those reconciliation action programs are all about
trying to look good, but they have little or no intention of awarding any money – each one of those applications takes many hours of doing. It is a lot of work. Some investigative journalist should find out just who actually awards any
grant money!’ As he has just returned from putting some final touches on his Bali villa, I ask Peter if he has any intention of retiring. ‘As soon as I get tired of it I will
retire. But right now I am enjoying it more than ever!’ The 27th Byron Bluesfest runs Thursday 24 till Monday 28 March. Tickets and program information at bluesfest.com.au.
cinema Reviews BY JOHN CAMPBELL
DIRTY GRANDPA
SISTERS
Recently widowed, Dick Kelly (De Niro) embarks on a road trip to Florida with his soon-to-be-wedded grandson, Jason (Zac Efron – who might never be taken seriously). After forty years of being faithful to his wife, Dick (the name gives you some idea of the witless nature of the script) is as horny as anything – he’d root a rattlesnake if he could hold it still long enough.
For Angie, who has never had things go her way, and Kate, bringing up a teenage, resentful daughter on her own, there has always been the fall-back of home and hearth in Orlando (Fla). When their parents (James Brolin and Dianne Wiest) decide to sell the property, Angie and Kate are outraged – to them it symbolises the loss of their youth. Suddenly – and uncomfortably – aware of entering their forties, the girls decide to throw one last party in the house before the deal is sealed with a pair of trendoids from New York.
They meet a couple of girls on the way, one of whom takes a shine to Dick while the other hits it off with Jason during a series of misadventures with a screwball dope dealer, a pair of bent yokel cops and a crew of bad-ass n-----s (‘You can say nigger when we let you’).
It is the party that is the centrepiece of the film and, as you’d expect, as many gags fly as hit the ground with a thud. One of the things that you can’t help respecting about it, however, is the straightforward acknowledgement that grown-ups from all walks of life take drugs.
If you’re unable to figure that Jason will renege on the stifling marriage that awaits him in favour of the sweetie who has won his heart… well, I guess you don’t get out to the flicks much. The dialogue is heavily sprayed with the f-word (barely a sentence is uttered without it) along with countless references to vaginas and penises.
Director Jason Moore (whose ebullient style was evident in 2012’s Pitch Perfect) does not encourage substance abuse, but neither does he pretend that, contrary to the two-faced deniers in the domain of media commentary, it is not an everyday thing. Inevitably, the humour gets broader as the party goes off the rails – Angie’s squeeze, James, falls off a bed and has a ballerina music box inserted up his bum.
At 72, Robert De Niro can be seen as a man unwilling to meekly allow his date of birth to determine his pursuits. A lot of people have a sense of identity that is inextricably linked with their life’s work and, in the case of actors, there is also the possibility that they are seduced into believing they are the character they’re playing. I can think of no other reason that De Niro, who surely can’t need the money, would be involved in a movie as abysmal as this. For a man of such stature it is undignified – the best thing about it was the air-con in the cinema.
Above all, it raises the question: Why are we so outraged by a two-minute video of a footballer acting like an imbecile but happy to have ninety minutes of similar behaviour screened three times daily in theatres everywhere? It’s juvenile, braindead and ugly.
36 February 10, 2016 The Byron Shire Echo
Amy Poehler and Tina Fey first came together in Baby Mama (2008), a funny, intelligent movie about the difficult life choices that women are corralled into making when motherhood and career are in conflict. Their comic skills complemented each other beautifully, to the extent that in this their roles are seamlessly interchanged; Angie (Poehler) is the staid, daggy one, whereas her sister Kate (Fey) is an out-there gal with a long history of lascivious deeds.
If the idea of Angie pulling it out as Beethoven tinkles away appeals – I laughed like a billygoat – then this is for you. It’s hardly subtle, but it’s not a total gross-out either, and the ending is as twee as you always knew it would be.
Byron Shire Echo archives: www.echo.net.au/byron-echo