Mama and Damian
Damian (W.G. White), a half-human, half-bear has led a sheltered life so far, having been raised and taught at home by his Mama (Hesta Barron) - a dominatrix cum human behaviour researcher – and her boyfriend, Gunter (Todd Michael Smith), a gentleman drunk.
But with adolescence approaching, Damian wants to expand his horizons somewhat, and start going to school. And, of course, when an adolescent teddy bear steps into the real world, trouble inevitably follows.
Because of its very personal nature, comedy is the most difficult of genres to attempt – what is incredibly funny for one person will fall flat for the next for no reason other than individual taste. This is especially true when the person making the comedy reaches beyond the safety of broad humour and tries to do something a bit more original.
In the casa of Mama and Damian, the comedy derives from the outrageousness of the characters and the fact that they are largely played straight. And there are some very bizarre characters in here. Apart from those already mentioned, we also have Damian’s Opa (David Robinson), a lampshade making Nazi, and Wolfgang (Ashley Cleaver), Gunter’s sexually ambiguous nephew.
This all makes for a bizarrely original and often very inventive film. Unfortunately it didn’t work for me because the narrative wasn’t quite strong enough to hold it all together.
That said, the film’s heart is in the right place and writer/director Kathi Lehmer has a fair bit to say. The most striking aspect about the characters – especially Damian and his Mama – is their humanity. And, no matter what their foibles, they are well drawn and (generally) likeable characters.
The acting is pretty solid throughout and the design of the film is very striking indeed. Damian lives in a world of bright primary colours and this, as much as anything else, communicates his essential childishness as he tries to make his way in the world.
Mama and Damian certainly has charm, and the film is inventive, original and has much to say about the way in which we stereotype others without being able to recognise our own oddities. It’s a shame, therefore, that it doesn’t quite come together.
That said, if you do have a taste for the gently bizarre, this film may well be worth checking out.
Thursday 01 Nov 2007 | Paul Pritchard | Comedy
