The Castle

The family all come off as a bit thick, its meant to be a satirical look at working class mentality, but it is done without mean spiritedness, which is what gives the movie its charm. The family members obviously love one another despite chinks in the personal armour. The oldest brother is in jail, the father keeps adding rooms to the house without actually finishing them, and the mother specializes in frozen entrees for the majority of the family meals.

What makes the movie so funny is that at various moments you can see parts of your own family portrayed in the movies characters, and the good humor and sense of fun inherent in the directors intent for this film stays put throughout the movie.


Deserves a Cult Following   June 11, 2002
Tome Raider (California, United States)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

My wife picked this up at the local public library for our weekend viewing pleasure. I initially wasn't enthused because the movie is described on the sleeve as "This Year's Full Monty." I didn't like Full Monty that much. Anyway, it was a Friday evening and it seemed the night for either a porno or a comedy and (as our daughter was still awake) the comedy prevailed and this was all we had in that category.

Two minutes into the movie I knew it was going to be great. This is a great family movie. That might make you think it is boring, but I mean it is a great movie about a GREAT FAMILY. This is about a family that doesn't know they are middle class (if not poor). This is a family that is rich in love, loyalty, spirit, respect and dreams. They are kind-hearted yet fearless in the face of unfairness and oppression. The wife character recounts how she fell in love with the husband and it related to his sense of principle. This is a great movie about PRINCIPLES. And these lofty subjects are somehow couched in a humorous setting for which it is hard to come up with an exact comparison, but suffice it to say I found every character very endearing, dimensional, rich. I laughed so hard my eyes were tearing up.

This is the type of movie that "they" ought to make often. It promotes only good and healthy outlooks. This is not a prudish movie by any means, but it is wholesome and positive and it makes you glad you share the planet with people in the hope that at least some of them are as good as the people portrayed in this movie.

I had never even heard of this movie before seeing it. Hopefully word will get out and the makers of this film will get the recognition they deserve, but nothing less han an Academy Award for Best Picture seems sufficient.


Deserves a Cult Following   June 10, 2002
Tome Raider (California, United States)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

My wife picked this up at the local public library for our weekend viewing pleasure. I initially wasn't enthused because the movie is described on the sleeve as "This Year's Full Monty." I didn't like Full Monty that much. Anyway, it was a Friday evening and it seemed the night for either a porno or a comedy and (as our daughter was still awake) the comedy prevailed and this was all we had in that category.

Two minutes into the movie I knew it was going to be great. This is a great family movie. That might make you think it is boring, but I mean it is a great movie about a GREAT FAMILY. This is about a family that doesn't know they are middle class (if not poor). This is a family that is rich in love, loyalty, spirit, respect and dreams. They are kind-hearted yet fearless in the face of unfairness and oppression. The wife character recounts how she fell in love with the husband and it related to his sense of principle. This is a great movie about PRINCIPLES. And these lofty subjects are somehow couched in a humorous setting for which it is hard to come up with an exact comparison, but suffice it to say I found every character very endearing, dimensional, rich. I laughed so hard my eyes were tearing up.

This is the type of movie that "they" ought to make often. It promotes only good and healthy outlooks. This is not a prudish movie by any means, but it is wholesome and positive and it makes you glad you share the planet with people in the hope that at least some of them are as good as the people portrayed in this movie.

I had never even heard of this movie before seeing it. Hopefully word will get out and the makers of this film will get the recognition they deserve, but nothing less than an Academy Award for Best Picture seems sufficient. This is not a cute little "sleeper" of a film. It is a brilliant portrayal of an ideal family fighting together for principle. It doesn't take itself too seriously, but I think it is profound and will forever be a classic.


If you love The Dish and/or Local Hero, HIGHLY recommeded   March 23, 2003
Evan (Edina, MN United States)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

It is similiar to The Dish in that it is filled with likable, funny Australian characters. The Castle is a little farther down the wackiness/realism scale, I laughed out loud more often at The Castle. Its slightly more sit-com feel allowed for some 'harder' punchlines (not so much in terms of swearing, but more in the comedic sense) and quite often it works great.

It is similiar to Local Hero in that both are about how local people (in Local Hero, Irish people) react to a rich, outside entity coming in and attempting to buy their homes. While the townspeople in Local Hero have a very different reaction, both movies deal with what makes somplace 'home' and the quality of life that has nothing to do with the dollar value of the place.

Either The Dish or Local Hero would make an excellent companion to The Castle for a home double feature night.

A WORD OF CAUTION: Do *NOT* watch the trailer on the DVD first!!! It gives away plot points (not that then ending is not predictable, but the trailer also gives away parts of the journey).


One of the funniest and down to earth movies the 90's.   November 17, 1999
Matthew Rennie (Australia)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

The Castle is one of those movies where big budgets and special effects were never a consideration. Just a great script, and a bunch of artist's who have worked previously together to bring you one hilarious movie.

Whether your Australian or not, you will find yourself laughing at the in your face characters and no holds barred language.

A tale about big business pushing aside the little man, but this little man wont be pushed. He has his "Castle" and is not going to give it up without a fight.

I recommend this film to anyone after a good laugh as they wont be dissapointed.