{"id":3207,"date":"2014-07-06T14:03:10","date_gmt":"2014-07-06T14:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/?p=3207"},"modified":"2014-07-06T14:03:10","modified_gmt":"2014-07-06T14:03:10","slug":"goddess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/comedy\/goddess\/","title":{"rendered":"Goddess **"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"goddess\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOdd\u201d does not begin to describe this film from Babe: Pig in the City<\/em> writer Mark Lamprell. It\u2019s not he story, per se, which seems remotely tangible and will initially strike a chord with many a former-career-woman-cum-stay-at-home-mum. But just who it\u2019s targeting exactly remains a mystery, as it seems to suggest us women can\u2019t expect to have it all, so be content with rearing the sprogs you\u2019ve chosen to bring into the world.<\/p>\n

Disguising this alarming \u2018moral\u2019 behind some music and the promise of Ronan Keating half-undressed (throughout over half of his scenes) in his debut screen role just doesn\u2019t cut the mustard, frankly. Goddess<\/em> initially conjures fantasies of another quirky, camp Australian smash hit like Strictly Ballroom<\/em>, pre-viewing, but it just isn\u2019t in the same league, however comical and entertaining some moments are.<\/p>\n

Elspeth Davies (musical stage star Laura Michelle Kelly) is an English mum-of-two married to whale marine biologist James (Keating), now living the isolated country life in Tasmania, Australia. The other local mums aren\u2019t that friendly and don\u2019t involve her in their social activities, and James is always away. She often goes into daydream mode about her former life as a singer, recreating scenarios to keep her sane. Then James buys Elspeth a webcam so they can chat while he\u2019s away at sea.<\/p>\n

However, Elspeth soon finds James is not around much, so turns the camera on her, sending her \u2018kitchen sink\u2019 song-and-dance performances out there online. Her following grows and her routines are discovered by a city ad agency run by the dominant Cassandra Wolfe (Magda Szubanski) who wants her to be the \u2018Goddess\u2019 face of a new laptop range for women. However, Elspeth needs to be present and fully committed, requiring her to come to the city. In a quandary, though suddenly finding her voice, Elspeth realises there is a price to pay for \u2018wanting it all\u2019.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the lingering moral that knocks this film\u2019s rating, sadly. Kelly is (reluctantly) very likeable, however irritatingly bouncy and sickly sweet Elspeth is most of the time \u2013 there is a dark side though, thankfully. The scenes with the other mums are very familiar, adding that \u2018ugly sisters\u2019 element to what is effectively a present-day Cinderella tale where the fairy-tale goal is not love but the career. Whether Kelly can act is still debatable, but her singing and dancing can\u2019t be faulted. Keating doesn\u2019t have to \u2018act\u2019 as such, getting away with a lot in a debut role by merely showing some buffed flesh then doing a lone \u2018Titanic<\/em>\u2019 number on the bow of a ship in one of the cheesiest scenarios this film has to offer.<\/p>\n

Wolfe comes into her own as a larger-than-life caricature of fairy-tale proportions but again, surprisingly, is not as two-dimensional as you first think. That said her character, allowed to lazily perpetuate the myth that female success equals showing flesh in the ad world, is a little disappointing (however true the situation). It\u2019s perhaps the fact that the film does not offer up a savoury solution to the ultimate female dilemma of \u2018kids vs career\u2019 that can\u2019t redeem the whole thing and mars the enjoyment factor.<\/p>\n

In this respect, the promise of a fun musical story of modern-day pressures of motherhood gets lost in latter-day sexist thinking. If Lamprell is being tongue-in-cheek about the latter, it doesn\u2019t translate well enough to bring out the true \u2018inner goddess\u2019 of this film.<\/p>\n

2\/5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n

By @FilmGazer<\/p>\n

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