The Sapphires, Wayne Blair 2012
By Ali Tenenbaum
It’s 1968 and against all odds, indigenous girls from the Australian Outback form a band. Dave, the goofy but knowledgeable talent scout with a heart of gold discovers them. As they head out on tour amidst the backdrop of Vietnam, they discover that love, family and friendship can conquer all. Yep, the plot is formulaic. This is a mainstream, simple feel-good movie. So what’s wrong with feeling good? It’s not pretentious or complicated and the Sapphires is not just a guilty pleasure. It’s a good story amidst the serious backdrop and Chris O’Dowd is a complete pleasure (in everything he does, not just this). The entire cast, in fact, is quite good and gives the straightforward material some pizzazz. Australia adds some exotic foreign land appeal and the music is great.
The Sapphires delivers in the way that chick lit might - easy to ingest and digest, entertaining and enjoyable but you may not remember it forever. Makes for an extremely pleasant family viewing night at home with Granny. Kids might squirm at the kissing but a little kissing never hurt anyone.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ora Media, LLC, its affiliates, or its employees.
