The Big Steal

(Australia)

Cascade. Director Nadia Tass; Producer Nadia Tass, David Parker; Screenplay David Parker; Camera David Parker; Editor Peter Carrodus; Art Director Paddy Reardon

Ben Mendelsohn
Claudia Karvan
Steve Bisley
Marshall Napier
Tim Robertson

The third feature from husband-and-wife team Nadia Tass and David Parker has a low-key charm that's appealing, and a couple of riotously funny scenes.

Ben Mendelsohn is Danny, a shy 18-year-old who wants two things: to own a Jaguar and to date Joanna (Claudia Karvan). Danny's father (Marshall Napier in a rich comic performance) gives him a car for his birthday, but it's a 1963 Nissan Cedric the family has owned for years. Danny decides to trade this in for a 1973 Jag in time for his first date.

Trouble is that car dealer Gordon Farkas (Steve Bisley giving a splendidly sleazy performance) is a crook who's switched engines on Danny. He and his mates decide to hit back by lifting the engine from Farkas' Jag while he's having a drunken time at a sex club.

Teens here are incredibly unsophisticated compared to 18-year-olds in Hollywood teen comedies, and that's part of the film's charm. Mendelsohn and Karvan are quite sweet in their roles.

(Color) Extract of a review from 1990. Running time: 100 MIN.

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