Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.

Mastidon's been very busy at the Berlin Film Festival for us, and he's back today with another review of a film I've never heard of, but that is now firmly on my radar.

HEY HEY IT'S ESTHER BLUEBURGER
Written and Directed by: Cathy Randall
Starring: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Toni Collette, and Danielle Catanzariti
Release Dates: March 20th Australia, No dates for USA & UK
3 1/2 Stars out of 5

Hey Guys,

Are you a studio executive looking for your next fun picture that will become a hit for its target audience? If that target audience is girls age 12 - 17 and their mothers, than look no further. HEY HEY IT'S ESTHER BLUEBURGER is your classic coming of age comedy told from the point of view of a 13 year old girl who just can't quite fit in and is desperate to be seen. The best way to describe this film is an Australian MEAN GIRLS with heart. I saw it at a 9:00 am screening after having very little sleep the night before. It grabbed me from its opening credits with a very entertaining original song that reminded me of "One is the loneliest number" setting the tone for the rest of the film.

***SPOILERS****

Esther (Danielle Catanzariti) just turned 13 together with her twin brother (Christian Byers) It's time for their Bar / Bat Mitzvah. The problem is Esther has no friends at her private all girls school. She isn't accepted by the other girls and simply watches them eat outside while she sits alone in a room. Her only companion is a duckling that has imprinted on her and follows her everywhere. Every day walking home from school she secretly watches Sunni (Keisha Castle-Hughes), a public school girl, perform in a band at the local community center. She always watches from outside until one day while watching she gets her period. This is shown by blood dripping down her leg. She runs inside to use the bathroom. Sunni sees her and follows. They meet and their friendship starts to develop from here.

A few days later when Esther's mother confronts her about not having party guests, she makes Esther call the girls from her school, none of which agree to come. Esther is forced to leave her pet duck at the school because of the party. At the Bat Mitzvah, she tries to sneak out and runs into Sunni on the street. Esther's mother appears and Sunni covers for Esther asking if she had her RSVP to the party. Sunni enters the party and Esther's world. At school on Monday, Esther's Biology class has to do a dissection - ducks. Esther grabs her dead duck and runs out crying. She heads straight to Sunni and says she never wants to go back to that school. The girls hatch a plan that Esther will just start going to school with Sunni without Esther's family knowing about it. The next morning Esther goes to Sunni's house to change. Sunni's mother (Toni Collette) tells her story of how she went to that private school and ran away from that life when getting pregnant as a teenager.

At the new school, Esther become very popular with the help of Sunni. As a result, she goes through some major character and attitude shifts that come with popularity and the constant need to be noticed. When she runs into a girl from the private school, she uses the excuse that she is on a secret cultural exchange program between the public and private schools. Esther continues spiraling out of control in bigger and bigger extremes until the death of a character pulls her back to reality and forces her to grow up and realize who she is.

My favorite scene has to be when the girls choir sings "House of the Rising Sun". I asked Cathy Randall about that and she said that she actually sang that song in her private school choir. Quite bizarre. The film is filled with funny little moments like that. Just listen to the Hebrew lessons. Guaranteed to make you laugh and smile.

***END SPOILERS****

I feel the film is perfect as is for the European market. However, I think it will need a bit of a trim for the USA as a couple of the scenes are just a bit much for what a typical conservative American parent would accept their 13 year old girl watching. You'll know the main scene that I'm talking about the second you see it,

Films for this age group have typically been bad - BRATZ need I say any more? This film has heart with scenes most women can relate to. It's highly entertaining with a great soundtrack making it the perfect recipe for a hit with every teenage girl. And wouldn't it be nice to replace MEAN GIRLS as the favorite among that crowd?

Ciao,

-Mastidon