Jeanie Drynan Movies
- 2002
The Australian sitcom Dossa and Joe represented the long awaited return to TV of writer/director Caroline Ahern, who'd sworn that she was through with the Tube after several years' toil on the British comedy weekly The Royle Family. Anne Charleston and Michael Caton starred as Dossa and Joe, a Sydney couple who'd been married for 40 years. But though they'd lived together for four decades, the couple never really knew each other until Joe retired from his job. Quickly getting on one another's nerves, Dossa and Joe retreated to the offices of a marriage counselor in hopes of retrieving whatever it was that had brought them together in the first place. Produced by the Australian branch of Granada Television, Dossa and Joe premiered Down Under in the spring of 2002, with a British TV premiere promised a few weeks later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
- NR
Unrequited love and mistaken identity are the lynchpins of this romantic comedy from Australia. Ruby Vale (Claudia Karvan) is a pretty but no-nonsense young woman who lives in a small village in the Aussie outback, where she runs the only diner in town. She's engaged to marry Hamish (Andrew S. Gilbert), who is pleasant but dull, and spends much of her free time with her good friend Jack (Hugh Jackman). Jack secretly aspires to be a writer and has in fact published a novel, but since the book is a frothy paperback romance, to avoid embarrassment he decided not to use his own name and instead credited Ruby Vale as the author. The book becomes a best seller and suddenly Ruby is forced to pose as the writer of a book she hasn't even read, and when the publisher flies her to Sydney to discuss her next project, confusion is the result. Leading lady Claudia Karvan was formerly a popular child actress in her native Australia, while her co-star Hugh Jackman makes his screen debut after establishing himself in musical theater, starring down under in major productions of Beauty and the Beast and Sunset Boulevard. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudia Karvan, Hugh Jackman, (more)
- 1999
- R
An Australian family with more than its share of eccentricities comes together and tries to set aside their differences in the comic drama Soft Fruit. Patsy (Jeannie Drynan) is the mother of four grown children who has learned she's dying of cancer. While her husband Vic (Linal Haft) is ambivalent about Patsy's condition, her kids are concerned enough to all visit her, marking the first time in 15 years the entire family has been under one roof. Josie (Genevieve Lemon) arrives from the United States with her Australian accent gone and two children in tow. Nadia (Sacha Horler), a single mother since her recent divorce, comes by with her son, but keeps sneaking off for assignations with her ex-husband. Vera (Alicia Talbot), who lives close by, is a nurse who is more single than she'd like to be. And Bo (Russell Dykstra) hangs out with a biker gang when he's not in jail; he's been released on special parole to visit his mother due to her condition. With the family together for a change, the sisters look after their mother, Bo sleeps in a storage shed, and Vic uses the fruit trees in the yard for target practice. Mom, however, has some ideas of her own about how she'd like to spend her final days. Soft Fruit marked the directorial debut of Christina Andreef, who previously served as an assistant to Jane Campion; Campion was executive producer for this project. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanie Drynan, Linal Haft, (more)
- 1998
Brian Stirner made his directorial debut with this British drama about child abuse, as seen in the attitudes of a half-dozen traumatized London teens -- a gang run by Stu (Harley Smith) amid homeless street people, hustlers, hookers, alcoholics, and junkies at Kings Cross. Vigilante gang members victimize homosexuals, seducing unsuspecting johns who wind up beaten and robbed. Stu works at a hotel restaurant where his boss (Roy Hudd) and the boss's wife (Jeanie Drynan) provide a surrogate family. He's also befriended by Irish waitress Kathleen (Marcella Plunkett), who has little information about the dark side of Stu's past. Meanwhile, Stu is pulled back into violent gang activities. Shown in competition at the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harley Smith, Marcella Plunkett, (more)
A socially inept young woman slowly learns to overcome her insecurities in this sleeper hit from Australia. The unconventional Muriel (Toni Collette) is deeply unsatisfied with her life, stuck in the nowhere town of Porpoise Spit and feeling rejected by her friends and family. Believing herself unattractive and worthless, she seeks meager solace in ABBA songs and fantasies of gorgeous weddings, with herself as the bride. Muriel's life takes a turn for the better, however, when she befriends the carefree Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths), who encourages her to take control of her life. Together, the two women travel to Sydney, where a series of liberating experiences help Muriel develop self-esteem and take the first steps towards maturity. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Toni Collette, Bill Hunter, (more)
- 1989
- R
Cappuccino takes place for the most part in an Australian coffee house, where a quartet of aspiring actors confer on a regular basis. John Clayton moonlights as a cabbie and a mediocre comedian; Rowena Wallace, Clayton's ex-lover, has had some moderate stage success; Jeanie Dryden (wife of Anthony Bowman, the film's director) is a naive newcomer who never gets a break; and Barry Quin is a onetime soap-opera star who'll do anything for publicity. There really isn't much of a plot, save for a wisp of continuity involving Clayton's discovery of an incriminating videotape in his cab. Cappuccino maintains an air of comic authenticity throughout, in that its cast is comprised of genuine struggling actors. The film was adroitly filmed on a minuscule budget in Sydney, Australia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Clayton, Rowena Wallace, (more)
- 1984
This low-budget film is about a discontented, rather boring couple. Nick Bailey (Harold Hopkins) is tired of his office job, tired of his marriage, and tired of the awful apartment he shares with his wife. She feels the same, and each consider having an affair -- he with a young woman who runs a hamburger stand, and she with a former lover. Their fantasies are not all that exciting, as might be expected, and the resolution of how to get out of their rut, as deep and wide as the Grand Canyon, stays within their standards of mediocrity. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harold Hopkins, Jeanie Drynan, (more)
- 1980
- PG
Three attractive women turn into Robin Hoods in order to save a kindergarten in this routine comedy-caper. Eva (Wendy Hughes), Fiona (Chantal Contouri), and Millicent (Carmen Duncan) are ready to help out a charitable cause when they see one, but their hearts are bigger than their wallets. The only solution is to take money from those who have it to burn and judiciously redistribute it. With that thought in mind, the three recruit a few extra women to their cause -- they plan on robbing from the rich in a posh island resort. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wendy Hughes, Chantal Contouri, (more)
- 1978
- R
In order to raise the money for his "breakthrough" film Breaker Morant, Australian director Bruce Beresford dashed off the guaranteed audience pleaser Money Movers. Terence Donovan masterminds a bank-vault heist that will potentially net his gang 20 million Australian dollars. The scheme predictably goes sour, but this conclusion is reached via a most unexpected fashion. Ed Devereaux, best known to American audiences for his leading-man gig on the TV series Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo, is second billed as "Dick Martin" (no, not the American TV-comic Dick Martin). Money Movers was based on a novel by Devon Minchin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terence Donovan, Ed Devereaux, (more)
- 1977
This easygoing drama offers a look back at the early days of the Australian movie business, and it was based on the real-life adventures of pioneering Aussie exhibitor Lyle Penn. Maurice "Pop" Pym (John Meillon) loves motion pictures, and he wants to open a cinema of his own. But shortly after the turn of the century, financial support for such a venture is hard to come by, so Pop does the next best thing; with his young son and a piano player in tow, Pop carts his collection of silent films and a portable projection system from one small town to another across the continent, showing his pictures wherever and whenever he can. However, Pop quickly learns that he already has a rival; Mr. Palmer (Rod Taylor) has decided to go into the movie business as well, and with deeper pockets, he's able to afford better equipment than Pop's shoestring budget can provide. Ironically, Rod Taylor plays a character who was born in Texas but emigrated to Australia; Taylor was in fact born in Australia and became a film star when he moved to the U.S. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, John Meillon, (more)
Early in his career, Australian director Bruce Beresford helmed Don's Party, which closely mirrors Shampoo in its basic premise and its edgy correlations between sex and politics. One pivotal election night, Don, played by John Hargreaves, throws a party for a group of friends, ostensibly so that everyone can watch the ballots roll in on television. But when booze is consumed in quantity, inhibitions are kicked downstairs. Particularly boorish under the influence of alcohol are Don's male friends, who indulge in a barrage of insulting verbal attacks on each other when they aren't trying to get each other's wives into bed. Unapologetically adult in its content and themes, Don's Party was adapted from a play by David Williamson; it marks one of the earliest classics of Australian New Wave cinema. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Barrett, Clare Binney, (more)
- 1969
Australian Mark McManus thinks that his relationship with girlfriend Jeannie Drynan is fairly solid. Indeed it is-until mutual friend David Turnbull spills the beans to McManus' wife Eileen Chapman. The resulting emotional turmoil makes McManus realize that he's more in love with Drynan than ever. As for Turnbull, he gets beaten up for his troubles. Director Tim Burstall cowrote the verbose screenplay of 2000 Weeks with the film's producer, Patrick Ryan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark McManus, Jeanie Drynan, (more)
- 1966
Based on a popular Australian novel, this comedy was produced Down Under in 1966. Nino Culotta Walter Chiari is an Italian journalist who is lured by his brother into coming to Australia to work for his paper there. But when Nino arrives in Sidney, he finds out that there is no paper; his brother has taken off with the investors' cash. Left in the lurch was his brother's business partner, Kay Kelly (Clare Dunne). Nino vows to pay off his brother's debt and gets a job as a bricklayer to do so. He also tries to woo Kay, but he is repeatedly rebuffed, with humorous results. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Chiari, Clare Dunne, (more)
