In 1974, broke but tenacious rock promoter Rod Blue, Joel Edgerton, risks everything to organise a concert tour by the legendary Frank Sinatra, Dennis Hopper. Almost from the moment he sets foot in Australia, the singer is bombarded with insulting and demeaning questions by members of the airport press corps, especially Hilary Hunter, Portia De Rossi. Later, at his first concert, Sinatra calls Hunter a "two-dollar whore". She complains to her union, and the singer and his entourage, including his mistress, Barbara Marx, Melanie Griffith, his lawyer, David Hemmings, and bodyguard Steven O'Rourke find themselves virtually trapped in their Sydney hotel room.
This essentially true story is still a pretty extraordinary one, and it's only a pity that writers Michael Thomas and Peter Clifton haven't concocted a more interesting screenplay to enrich it. Far too much time is spent on the rather annoying Rod Blue character and his problems, and though the actors, including Rose Byrne as the young lawyer who adores him, are fine, these scenes and characters belong to a lesser film. Hopper, amazingly, convinces as Sinatra, and Tom Burlinson's singing voice is used to such great advantage that the concert scenes are splendid. But the principle delight of the film is David Field's hilarious turn as future Prime Minister Bob Hawke, who is brought in to solve the impasse. There is a lot to enjoy in this film, but it's not as good as it could, and should, have been, certainly not as good as director Paul Goldman's debut, Australian Rules.
Margaret's comments: I loved it! [Watch the whole review in the above video]
