Review by John Delia
Sweet and touching, the film Top End Wedding gives you a couple of love stories and a tour of Australia’s surrounding islands. However, it’s the story that really makes for a fun romantic movie for couples and females of all ages. A very good motion picture to watch with hubby or a new squeeze, but it may conjure up desires to travel to the “Land Down Underâ€. The made for TV film has moved into VOD and Digital HD so check your cable or other means of tracking the film down as it’s really worth the watch.
Lauren Ford (Miranda Tapsell) has been promoted to a full associate at Hampton and Associates, but it also calls for a lot of late nights and intense days. Her fiancée Ned Pelton (Gwilym Lee) has proposed to her and wants to get married right away, but Lauren gets word from Treavor (Huw Higginson), her dad, that her mother Daffy (Ursula Yovich) has left him. Her boss (Kerry Fox) is very strict and puts a lot of pressure on Lauren giving her only 5 days to sort it all out. Not knowing where her mother went and wanting to have her parents at the wedding, she decides to take a trip and see her dad hundreds of miles away in Darwin. When she gets there, her dad tells her that he can’t figure out why or where she went.
With limited time and the wedding date coming up quick she heads for her mother’s former aboriginal home on the islands of Tiwi. Director Wayne Blair gives us gorgeous views of Darwin and Tiwi as he sends his stars on the quest to find Daffy and bring her to the wedding. But, Blair also throws a monkey wrench into the quest and keeps his audience wondering if Lauren will ever figure out her dilemma. He makes the film fun to watch and accompanies it with island music and costumes.
The acting is all good and believable with performances that make you want to see more. As Lauren, Miranda Tapsell puts her heart into the role and keeps the wild quest hilarious at times. She’s cute, endearing and with an outgoing personality, the perfect match for Lauren.
Top End Wedding has been rated TV-14 by the TV Rating Bureau for a sensual scene. The movie can be viewed on VOD from most cable carriers.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A fun romantic movie. (3 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Miranda Tapsell, Gwilym Lee, Kerry Fox, Huw Higginson
Directed by: Â Wayne Blair
Genre: Romantic Comedy
TV/VOD Rating: TV-14
Running Time: 1 hr. 53 min.
Opening Date: February 21, 2020
Distributed by: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Released in: VOD