"Bran Nue Dae" is the kind of movie you forget by the time you have walked up the aisle to leave the theatre BUT while you are watching the movie you are enjoying the silliness, the haminess and scene chewing by so many of the actors, including Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush, the full throat singing of 'Australian Idol' second place Jessica Mauboy and the earnest nerdiness and dorkiness of Rocky McKenzie, a misnomer if there was ever one, as her boyfriend want to be.

The film is based on a 20 year old Australian stage musical which is far from stage bound in the film with the open shots dazzling in color whether being in the countryside or in a church. It is the latter where the singing starts off and continues throughout the film hitting all genres but most sounding like country music.

The film is directed by Rachel Perkins with the director of photography Andrew Lesnie, both using all the color available whether it be in clothes, a Volkswagen hippie wagon or the bright orange color of the clay roads leading to Broome where everyone is heading. And reading the credits at the end of the movie I think every citizen of Broome was in the movie!

The stand out of the many cast members is Ernie Dingo who plays a down to earth, homeless alcoholic, always smiling, caring scene stealer. His professional, believable performance shows up the many amateur actors in the film but they are funny in their own way.

Bran Nue Dae is, in many ways, an old fashioned musical that keeps moving from point to point without giving you time to get bored or apply any logic to any one scene being 85 minutes long..  There are stock characters and songs in what is basically a road movie though it seems to have wanted to talk/sing about the Aborigine situation still alive in all of Australia.

The two main reasons for seeing this movie are for the performance of Ernie Dingo and Jessica Mauboy's rendition of "Stand By Your Man".

It is a fun but forgettable movie.