The Castle is an example of poor Australian filmography. Not only does it conform to stereotypes as a last ditch attempt to humor, it does so blatantly obviously that it is far short of many of the great pieces of cinema that emerge from here. Satire is primarily used to evoke laughs from the viewer, but the result is a one and a half hour cringe-fest, with poor writing, poor direction and poor scripting. The actors are a class below average, and we are not positioned to sympathise with the Kerrigen's in anyway throughout the plight although that was the authors invitation. Essentially, the Castle is about bogans being bogans, and we are meant to laugh at this? The difference between the Simpsons and this is that the Simpsons is cleverly written, with charm and heart. The Castle is crude in nature, so much so that any form of empathy is lost in the first few minutes. Overall, I strongly recommend you miss this one out and go watch an actual film.

Here is the premise of this Aussie stinker. A family cracks sitcom style jokes while they fight off an airport trying to make extensions with their house in the way. What is really sad is that because of the sitcom style jokes they're hard to take seriously when the movie pretty much forces you to at the end, with sitcom jokes that make out the family is a bunch of idiots then show me why THAT is enough ground to care for them.Oh the ending - THEY WIN, that is the ending that I could see coming as soon as the complication started. What happens the previous 2 times they're in court is cringe worthy to say the least because they are SO sure they'll win.If you want a decent Aussie comedy that knows what it's trying to be look no further than the movie Hercules Returns.Oh, FYI this movie was a money-maker in the literal sense of the word - it was shot on a next-to-nothing budget so these filmmakers could fund The Dish.

Last year, this movie just popped on the telly while I was bored. And I'm so happy that I watched it.I found 'The Castle' hilarious, it was cool to see where many well-used sayings came from. I couldn't stop smiling the whole time. This is the truth.Michael Caton is great as Darryl Kerrigan and Eric Bana was spot-on in his first movie role.This really is truer to how a lot of Australians are.....my step-dad is like it and half my cousins are pretty close to it. That's part of what makes it a hit in Australia -- the characters are so ridiculously believable.So, in short, THOROUGHLY enjoyed! I must find this movie in my local movie shop ASAP :)

The Castle reminds me a bit of Gregory's Girl. It's not that these films share similar plot-lines, they don't. It's just that they're both comedies with very regionalized characters with awful haircuts, shot on a tiny budget, with a dated cheesy soundtrack and zero cinematic style. Both films, too, have deep affection for their central characters. While I do prefer Gregory's Girl, this is because I can relate to it more. I found The Castle to be amusing as opposed to laugh-out-loud hilarious. Its story about the little man against the big corporation wasn't in truth all that interesting but it did serve the film with a narrative thrust to base its characters around. And I guess that really this film is very much more about the characters than anything else plot-related or otherwise. I watched the film with an Aussie who seemed to pick up more specific things about these people than I ever could. It does seem that The Castle is a film that is unashamedly primarily made by Australians for Australians. That's not to say that most Aussies resemble this family of honourable half-wits. They do not, but the unpretentious attitude of the Kerrigan family and friends is one that seems to fit the rest of the world's perceptions of the inhabitants of Oz.If I'm being honest I found the story of the court battle against the big business to be the least satisfying aspect to this film. It was much better when it just concentrated on the little things like its characters quirks. The whole court battle almost seemed forced, as though the writers felt that a character-driven plot-less film would not have been enough. I think it would have though and the whole little man against The Man stuff made it all less believable and less interesting.Overall though, this is a good film. It's not essential but it will provide you with a few laughs along the way. Oh and another thing, the boy who narrates the story sports a mullet so disgusting that I swear it made me feel a little unwell.