Any Questions for Ben? (2012)

59% of critics liked it
(17 reviews)
70% want to see it
(208 ratings)

For 27-year-old Ben, life couldn't be better. A well paid job, friends, parties, girls and nothing to tie him down. But when he is invited back to his old school to join several other ex-students including Alex and Jim in talking about their personal achievements, something goes wrong. Ben is the… More For 27-year-old Ben, life couldn't be better. A well paid job, friends, parties, girls and nothing to tie him down. But when he is invited back to his old school to join several other ex-students including Alex and Jim in talking about their personal achievements, something goes wrong. Ben is the only speaker not to be asked a question by the school kids. This triggers a year of soulsearching and looking for answers in all the wrong places. From his best friend Andy whose solution is that they both take another holiday, to his mentor Sam who loans him a sports car in the belief that there's nothing like excessive speed to resolve emotional turmoil. Not even Ben's father or friends Nick and Em can offer much in the way of meaningful guidance. Of course, it's not easy seeking enlightenment in nightclubs, or on the ski fields of New Zealand, and when you start dating a Russian tennis star things can get really complicated. As the poster boy for a generation desperate to tick every box, Ben begins to suspect that the meaning of life may well reside in the things he's already doing - and a girl he used to know.

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 54 min.
Directed By: Rob Stich, Rob Sitch
Written By: Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Rob Stich, Rob Sitch
Genres: Art House & International, Comedy

Critic Reviews

Blake Howard, 2UE That Movie Show
The Working Dog writing group's collaboration feels so organic. This is searching, vulnerable, dramatic, comedy.
Cameron Williams, The Popcorn Junkie
It's a film made for the 1% who question their sweet life while sitting on a gold plated toilet.
Tim Martain, The Mercury
While the film does have its flaws story-wise, the killer dialogue with its uniquely Australian style of wit makes it a true joy to watch.
Julie Rigg, MovieTime, ABC Radio National
Any Questions for Ben? is watchable enough. But it could have been so much more.
Peter Galvin, sbs.com.au
It's full of the kind of fake insights and sanctimonious crap to be found in magazine self-help columns. Pity, because that's a real fun killer.
Margaret Pomeranz, At the Movies (Australia)
The problem with the film, apart from it being only sporadically funny, is the character of Ben himself, there's too little development and a lot of repetition. But there's a lot to enjoy here.
Sandra Hall, Sydney Morning Herald
The whole thing made me nostalgic for Working Dog's sharper days when they would surely have perpetrated all sorts of wickedness at Ben's expense.
Leigh Paatsch, Herald Sun (Australia)
I sense that others who similarly fell hard for the soulful sincerity of The Castle and The Dish will feel a little quizzical about the comparative slickness of Any Questions for Ben?
Jenny Casablancas, FILMINK (Australia)
The talented bunch of actors ably cut through the surface gloss, but it's tough to remain invested in the plight of the self-absorbed lead.
Anthony Morris, The Vine
It's a slick, lightweight feel-good film about a bunch of characters who happen to be sharing their glamorous, hard-partying lifestyle with you for a couple of hours.
Glenn Dunks, Trespass
It's slight and rarely laugh out loud funny-pleasant and occasionally chucklesome is an apt way to describe its loose style-but in the end I found myself smiling along to the proceedings, so I guess that's a win.
Matt Neal, The Standard
It's far from perfect, but it's damned funny.
Matthew Pejkovic, Matt's Movie Reviews
Although this third film from the Working Dog team is their weakest, Any Questions for Ben? is still a funny and insightful look into Gen X pressures in an increasingly fast paced world.
Simon Miraudo, Quickflix
Even though Any Questions for Ben never really produces any unique answers to make it a revelatory rom-com, it has an easy, low-stakes charm, and is buoyed by its very talented cast of performers.
Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile
At last, an Australian film that's as sophisticated and slick as its cities, yet down to earth and in touch with our sardonic sense of humour.
Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile
The film is blessed with a sharp cast ready to tread the fine line between comedy and drama that works like glue to hold the film together
Luke Buckmaster, Crikey
this graceless comedy has been made by middle-aged dags trying and failing to capture the mannerisms and lifestyles of people decades their junior.