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Sadly Over-hyped

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I avoided ANY QUESTIONS FOR BEN? on its release as I simply didn't like the title and after watching a slew of uninteresting contemporary Australian comedies I decided to give the film a miss. I watched the it this evening on a streaming channel and was surprised to find I liked it as much as I did ... which may not be saying much. I wasn't aware this was a Working Dog production (the team who made The Castle and The Dish, as well as numerous highly successful and very funny television shows) and while it lacks the laugh out loud comedy of their earlier films, it contains a conventional rom-com formula that works fairly well. Title character Ben (Hosh Lawson) is in his late twenties and although a university drop-out, he has built a high-profile reputation in marketing. Admired and envied by his friends, Ben lives in the CBD with his two best mates and spends his nights and weekends socialising and hopping from one tryst to the next. After returning as a guest speaker to his alma mater, Ben meets up with old university friend Alex (Rachel Taylor) and learns she is working for the UN in Yemen. Both Ben and Alex address the current students at their old school and talk about their careers. During question time, the students have loads of questions for Alex but no one has questions for Ben - thus the film's awkward title. This causes an existential crisis for Ben who suddenly finds himself in searching for meaning. There is a hint of Woody Allen here that reminds me of Annie Hall, Another Woman and Hannah and Her Sisters (though not at all in the same league) where Manhattan protagonists stop moving long enough to suddenly recognise that their lives are meaningless. Ben becomes fixated on Alex but finds that his old habits are hard to break as his fear to commit to anything longterm gets in the way of meaningful relationships. It is difficult to try and decipher what it is the Working Dog team are trying to say with their film. While Ben's friends are not unlikeable, there is a general lack of depth to any of them except Ben who feels increasingly isolated and alone in his angst-ridden journey even as he continually tries and fails to reach out to friends and family and connect on a more intimate level. In the end, Ben makes a decision to stay with this job and his apartment after having led a a life of transient affluence throughout his twenties. This extends to his relationship with Alex and he finally gets enough gumption to put himself on the line for love. After flitting about Melbourne hot spots throughout the film, the ultimate message of the film seems to be that the solution for soullessness can be found in a highly conservative formula of work and family values ... yet after meeting Ben's parents, even this seems hollow. Is there a deeper cynical agenda at work for the Working Dog team? Maybe, although I'm thinking this is more my reading of the film as I seriously doubt they are clever enough to pull off cynicism with a lightness of touch.The constant socialising at prominent Melbourne venues and festivals captured in fast paced montage as well as the deluge of aerial shots of the CBD certainly show off just how much the city of Melbourne has to offer - and what is shown of this beautiful southern city is not even half of what there is, especially as the film rarely wonders outside the space of the CBD to explore its rich cafe culture, theatre and arts - yet the constancy and excessiveness of shots of Melbourne seem like the film has been sponsored by a tourist information group. This might be a love letter to Melbourne, yet the film ends by ultimately showing that one has to fly to Yemen to actually find love.

I started watching this movie just due to my recent admiration for the writers, and the fact that I live in Melbourne. Reading a few of the reviews on here prior to watching this though did make me wonder if it was even worth my time.....Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised. The story is simple enough - boy meets girl at a reunion, boy royally screws things up, boy attempt to win girl back whilst understanding his own existence.Personally, I loved the snappy dialogue, and although Ben had his flaws, he remained a lovable protagonist all the same. His love interest Alex was portrayed fantastically by Rachael Taylor, and Ben's various friends and family reinforced his both his charm and downfalls. Finally, the backdrop of Melbourne became the ultimate star of the movie with its romantic scenery and incredible events that add to the pace of the story.Do yourself a favour - if it is a rainy night, snuggle up on the couch with a cup of peppermint tea and lose yourself in this romcom.

When i start watching this movie, i didn't think i was going to like it, but it turn out to be well cast and the script was good for most of the movie.i thought Josh Lawson was great as Ben, along with his low attention span mate Andy and flatmate Nick. Lachy Hulme as Sam was great and gave some great one liners and tied everything together.This is a good Saturday night movie to kick back to, about a guy who has cruzed threw life, going from job to job, changing apartments every eight months, and has the glamorous lifestyle but feels incomplete.When an old classmate, Alex shows up, Ben is drawn to her, but his bad habit of not doing things catches up with him. Will Ben get the girl of his dreams or has she slipped away?

I tend to agree with most of the positive things that have been said about this film but wish to add that the true genius of this production is the casting by Jane Kennedy.Not one poor or corny performance in the whole film. It is wonderful to know and see just how many really good actors there are in this country.The excellent performances from the main leads and all of supporting roles make this a joy from start to finish.Ben's parents, Sam, Andy, The airport staff etc etc - fantastic! Well done all but please take a special bow Jane!