The Kerrigan family live in a top property at the end of an airport runway. Dad has endless projects round the house and often stands in proud amazement at the size of his aerial, the hole that his son dug or some of the ideas his middle son has had. Mum is a great cook that can do a sponge cake as easy as seasoned chicken. Wayne is in prison, Steve is an apprentice mechanic and an ideas man, while Dale is just plain happy with his simple family life. However, when a compulsory purchase order comes through the post, the family find that they are being forced to sell up to make room for an extension of the airport.
Shot in less than two weeks because that is all they could afford to do, this comedy is a delightfully gentle comedy that draws laughs from the Kerrigan family but balances it perfectly so that we still like them. This is not as easy as it sounds because, in UK parlance, the Kerrigan's are "chavs" and are very simple people, they admire things that many of us would dislike (living below planes and beside pylons) and they are not the brightest in the world. In essence they are the "typical" Australian working class family and Darryl is the classic Aussie battler. The plot is simple and, although it is fairly obvious where it is going and isn't ever that dramatic, the story is gently engaging and pleasing. The laughs are gentle but consistent and show a real good touch in the writing taking "normal" eccentricities and exaggerating just enough to be funny but not to the point where it is absurd. It is hard to describe but basically give it five minutes you'll either get it or you won't and, if you don't, then don't bother with it because it is the same from the start onwards.
The direction is a bit rough and ready but that does suit the material as does the cast. Caton is enjoyable and fits the bill spot on. Tenney has a smaller role but does it well; likewise Simcoe, Hope and a pre-Hollywood Bana. Narration is good from Curry and the majority of the cast play their material well considering the real time pressure they must have been under. One bit of trivia that illustrates the constraints in making this film is that the family name "Kerrigan" was selected because the tow trucks used for the film already had that name painted on them, so it saved costs to change the script rather than change the paint job.
Overall this was a delightfully amusing film with not a single harsh or cruel line in the whole thing. It may make fun of the Kerrigan family but it does it in an affectionate manner that is consistently funny without being a real belly-laugh fest. A perfectly entertaining family film that doesn't appear to have been damaged or compromised by the rushed shoot or the tiny budget.
