DEAR CLAUDIA (M). (Beyond Films/UIP) Director: Chris Cudlipp Stars: Bryan Brown, Aleksandra Vujcic, Deborah Mailman, Rel Hunt, Kim Hillas, Ken Radley, Sam Healy Running time: 93 minutes.
A poor man's variation of Six Days, Seven Nights?
A plane crash strands Walter (Bryan Brown) and Claudia (Aleksandra Vujcic, from Broken English) on a remote island. The two don't get on. While his prime concern is ensuring the safety of the water logged mail, her survival instincts spring into gear. But, eventually, an unlikely romance blossoms between the pair during the month they spend on the island.
Walter has spent most of his life in the small town of Talok Spring, and his unremarkable life is characterised by his sense of regret at missed opportunities. The only joy he finds in life comes from flying his mail plane on its regular route. Claudia is a local bar maid and former street kid with a secret to hide. She has smuggled twenty ingots of stolen gold bullion onto Walter's plane and is anxious to be rescued. The pair hunt for food, they fight, they make up, and they read some mail. And then they do it all over again. Ad infinitum.
Meanwhile, back in sleepy Talok Spring, the disappearance becomes the hot topic. The local newspaper's sensationalist headlines report the alleged international crime spree of the two castaways. Walter's two colleagues (Deborah Mailman, from Radiance, and Kim Hillas) laugh a lot, and continually discuss Walter's absence with the local cop (Rel Hunt) who desperately wants a transfer out of the dead end town. And they do it all over again. Ad infinitum.
There was possibly the germ of a good idea somewhere in this scenario, but the dull, clichéd, and underdeveloped script from first time writer Chris Cudlipp squanders any potential. There is a distinct lack of humour to proceedings. The laughs are forced, and far and few between.
The central pairing between Brown and Vujcic lacks the sexual chemistry that eventually developed between Harrison Ford and Anne Heche in their recent comedy featuring a similar premise. Croatian-born Vujcic brings fire and passion to her performance, but she certainly deserves better material than this. Cudlipp's direction is also pedestrian and lacks flair. Cudlipp hails from a background in advertising. He must have been good at that job because he sold this stinker to veteran producer Jim McElroy, describing it as a cross between When Harry Met Sally and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. If only..! More accurately, this dismal and disappointingly bland effort is a cross between The Postman and A Little Bit Of Soul.
Woeful!
* greg king http://www.netau.com.au/gregking
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