Mental

Julie Andrews is a shadowy presence behind this intermittently hilarious Aussie comedy about just what is normal. Rebecca Gibney plays Shirley, the downtrodden politician's wife who is committed to an institution for wanting to be Maria Von Trapp and singing songs from The Sound of Music. And there's more than a whiff of Mary Poppins about Shaz (Toni Collette), the charismatic "crazy" that philandering husband Barry (Anthony LaPaglia) hires to look after the couple's five eccentrically neurotic daughters. But there's as much "Crocodile" Dundee as magic nanny about the wacky tactics that she uses to bring the kids to a self-confident, self-believing "state of Shaz". Director PJ Hogan, who worked with Collette on Muriel's Wedding, doesn't get things quite right: a heavy-duty second half is tougher to sit through than the hilarious first. And, at just under two hours, the film's too long. But, quibbles aside, Mental boasts more laugh-out-loud moments than most comedies.