Reviewed by Joelene Pynnonen
For the first time the foxy morons of Fountain Lakes are hitting our big screens with Kath and Kimderella. Set principally in Italy. Kath says it is the movie into which they have poured their ‘heart, soul, costumes and beautiful bodies – except for Sharon’.
When Kath Day-Knight wins a holiday to the Italian Kingdom of Papilloma, she is delighted. Kel is afraid of flying, however, so instead of a chance to spice up their flagging marriage; Kath is forced to take her spoilt daughter, Kim, along. Kim’s second-best friend, Sharon, joins them and the three set off for an all-girls holiday.
Finding that their hotel has closed, the trio are welcomed into King Javier’s (Rob Sitch) luxurious castle. But in idyllic Papilloma, not all is as it seems. The people live in poverty while King Javier sets his sights on Kath as a rich tourist. Alain, the mysterious page played by Richard E. Grant, regularly disappears into the dungeons, and the prince skulks the halls wearing a mask.
Kath and Kimderella is parody and fractured fairy-tale all rolled into one. While it has all of the characters and humour that audiences have come to expect from the TV series, there is so much more. While many sitcoms make the mistake of keeping the same formula when they go to the big screen, Kath and Kimderella breaks free of that. With an entirely new setting, a dash of fresh faces and all of the allusions to fairy-tales; there is no way that this movie could be written off as an extra-long TV episode.
Performances are good across the board. Jane Turner (Kath) and Gina Riley (Kim) stand out with their comedic timing and seeming ability to know exactly how far to push the joke. Magda Szubanski again plays a brilliant Sharon. But it is with the supporting cast that the performances reach another level. While Rob Sitch and Richard E. Grant have a presence about them that is distinctive from the characters we love in Kath and Kim, they manage to work their acting styles together to complement the original cast.
With enough set-up for people who are new to Kath and Kim, the pacing is fast enough to keep the interest of regular watchers. As silly as Kath and Kimderella can be, it’s an incredibly fun journey that fans will love.
