Kangaroo Island movie review by Movie Review Mom

MOVIE TITLE: Kangaroo Island

The film by Blue Harbor Entertainment opens on April 24 in New York, Los Angeles, and other select cities before expanding to additional theaters this Spring.

RATING: PG-13 L

LENGTH: 1 hour 42 minutes

GRADE: B-

Featured Product About This Movie:

Australian Outback travel guide on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/4sMTKvW

IN A NUTSHELL: A struggling actress returns to her family home on Kangaroo Island to help her father, only to discover that her sister is now dating her ex-boyfriend. It is a quirky, emotional dramedy about family secrets and the messy reality of coming home.

The film was directed by Timothy David. Screenwriting credits go to Sally Gifford.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

We see lots of drinking, drunkenness, and smoking weed.
Profanity, including many F-bombs by the leading lady. That appears to be her favorite word.
Adult themes regarding past relationships and intimacy.
Emotional discussions about family estrangement and parental disappointment.
Talk of death.
Portrayal of what looks like a one-night stand.

THEMES:

Forgiveness and reconciling with the past.
The complexity of sisterhood and sibling rivalry.
Finding one’s identity outside of professional success.
ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease)
Choices and consequences
Priorities

THINGS I LIKED:

The cinematography perfectly captures the rugged, breathtaking beauty of South Australia. We see some gorgeous views of beaches and some adorable kangaroos.
The cast did a great job. They all looked like real people, rather than Hollywood actors…well, except for the leading lady and man. The cast includes Rebecca Breeds, Erik Thomson, Adelaide Clemens, Joel Jackson, and Nicholas Hope.
The film addresses so many of life’s difficult moments and choices in family life and romance.
There are quite a few interesting conversations about God and religion.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

It’s really hard to like the protagonist played by Rebecca Breeds because she’s a self-centered jerk who blames her terrible life on anyone but herself, even though she is the one who caused all of her own problems. All she does for the majority of the movie is lie, swear, whine, drink, and smoke weed. In the first scene, we see her look at pictures of beautiful women while feeling sorry for herself. She’s beautiful, so that just made me roll my eyes. She has definitely hit rock bottom, and I’m happy to report that we see some character growth.
The movie calls itself a dramatic comedy but there really isn’t any humor in it at all, other than a running gag about missing luggage.
Some of the music and sound effects in the background really annoyed me.
I hate it when movies portray Christians as idiots.
There’s a conversation about religion between two people who say they don’t believe in God. One minute later, a snake comes near one of them and the girl screams, “Please God!” Another character says, “What a hypocrite”, to which she replies, “I know. I hate myself.” One claims that he can’t believe in God because of the Epicurean Paradox, which argues that if an all-powerful (omnipotent) and all-good (omnibenevolent) God exists, evil and suffering should not. If evil exists, proponents argue that God is either not all-powerful (unable to stop it) or not all-good (unwilling to stop it). There’s more to God than just that. How about a God who loves us so much that He sent us to have a mortal experience to learn how to distinguish between good and evil by using our free agency? This mortal probation is all about free agency and how we will use it. Did you ever think of that? We’re here to learn and grow. Could we do that if evil were not present? If you knew that was a part of the whole plan, would you live your life any differently?
Tarantula! EEK!

FUNNY LINES:

“Who needs fake drama when you have the real thing?” – Lou Wells (Rebecca Breeds)
“Nothing says ‘welcome home’ like seeing my ex-boyfriend’s toothbrush in my sister’s bathroom.”

INTERESTING LINES:

“Suffering is a part of life. We can’t all opt out of it.” – Freya Wells (Adelaide Clemens)

MOVIES LIKE THIS YOU ALSO MIGHT LIKE:

The Family Stone: https://amzn.to/4trBvxm
Garden State: https://amzn.to/4cWT4PL
His Three Daughters: https://moviereviewmom.com/his-three-daughters-movie-review/

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