Sweetie (1989)

93% of critics liked it
(14 reviews)
72% of users liked it
(1,365 ratings)

New Zealand-born filmmaker Jane Campion directs the darkly humorous family drama Sweetie. Thin and mousy Kay (Karen Colson) works in a factory and lives a dreary existence with her well-meaning boyfriend, Louis (Tom Lycos). One day, her sister Dawn (Genevieve Lemon) arrives with her so-called… More New Zealand-born filmmaker Jane Campion directs the darkly humorous family drama Sweetie. Thin and mousy Kay (Karen Colson) works in a factory and lives a dreary existence with her well-meaning boyfriend, Louis (Tom Lycos). One day, her sister Dawn (Genevieve Lemon) arrives with her so-called manager, Bob (Michael Lake). Nicknamed Sweetie, Dawn is everything Kay is not: boisterous, impulsive, and overweight. Kay is consumed with uptight phobias, while Dawn hangs on to her unrealistic childhood dreams of show business. Meanwhile, their parents, Gordon (Jon Darling) and Flo (Dorothy Barry), are involved in a strange separation. Kay, Louis, and Gordon trick Dawn so they can visit Flo at a ranch in the Australian outback. Everyone gets together back at the family home where Dawn pulls an immature stunt, exposing the psychological realities of the situation. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 37 min.
Directed By: Jane Campion
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Sep 10, 1989 Wide
On DVD: Oct 24, 2006
Studio: Avenue Pictures Productions

Critic Reviews

Desson Thomson, Washington Post
It's hard to sum up Sweetie, which happens to be one of the movie's strengths.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Jane Camion's stunning feature debut is a bold and audacious dark comedy about sexual politics and dysfunctional family relations.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...a highly visual domestic horror film, a sui generis experience
Glenn Heath Jr., Slant Magazine
Natural forces war with repressed emotions in Jane Campion's Sweetie, where the wind in the trees signifies the obscured memories and potential salvation of a family mired in stagnation.
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
[Jane Campion's] first full-fledged, no-doubt-about-it, stone-cold masterpiece.
Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile
a helter skelter ride through the offbeat life of a suburban Australian family whose youngest daughter is 'abnormal'
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
The director manages to sustain the film's quirky emotional tone, much more important than sustaining a plot.
Rob Vaux, Flipside Movie Emporium
A strong early effort from Jane Campion.

Read all 8 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Randy T

Jane Campion's style is never going to woo the masses with broad appeal, but that's part of what makes her such a dynamic film maker. <i>Sweetie</i> is an odd bit of cinema that is both sentimental and detached. A quirky and imaginative motion picture.
Mark A

A difficult and somewhat disturbing film that explores the troubled relationship between two very different sisters. Dawn (Genevieve Lemon), known to her family as Sweetie, is a blowzy, overweight woman with serious mental health issues and delusions of grandeur who shows up at her… More
A difficult and somewhat disturbing film that explores the troubled relationship between two very different sisters. Dawn (Genevieve Lemon), known to her family as Sweetie, is a blowzy, overweight woman with serious mental health issues and delusions of grandeur who shows up at her sister's with a producer/boyfriend in tow. Kay (Karen Colston) is the other sister, a shy, socially awkward young woman who has managed to snare a steady boyfriend in the handsome Louis (Tom Lycos). Their father (Michael Lake) moves in as well, when his wife, the girls' mother, leaves him, further complicating the living arrangements. The story seemed a bit disjointed at times, with unexplained gaps making it difficult to piece together the narrative into a coherent whole. But, it is director Campion's first feature film, with a limited budget, and shows the promise of her later films. As an audience, we are inexorably drawn into the downward spiral as this fragile family unit fractures and falls apart. Lemon and Colston were totally believable as the sisters caught in a love-hate relationship, and completely unable to relate to each other beyond a most juvenile level. And Lake was spot-on as the father so blinded by his love for his daughter that e could not see how truly damaged she was. Campion has proved herself a master at depicting the family dynamic in tortured situations, and this film is part of that legacy.

Cast

            Genevieve Lemon as Dawn/Sweetie

            Karen Colston as Kay

            Tom Lycos as Louis

            Jon Darling as Gordon

            Dorothy Barry as Flo

            Michael Lake as Bob

            Andre Pataczek as Clayton

            Sean Callinan as Simboo

            Sean Fennell as Boy clerk

            Emma Louise Fox as Cheryl

            Robyn Frank as Ruth

            Jean Hadgraft as Mrs. Schneller

            Paul Livingston as Teddy Schneller

            Ann Merchant as Paula

            Bronwyn Morgan as Sue

            John Negroponte
            
            Charles Abbott as Meditation teacher

            Larry Brand as Sweetie's Funeral

            Gerard Lee as Lead Jackaroo

            Diana Armer as Melony

            Ben Cochrane as Boy in Tree

            Bruce Currie as Man with Saw

            Irene Curtis as Mandy

            Emma Fowler as Little Sweetie

            Norm Galton as Notary

            Warren Hensley as Man handshaker

            Cedric McLaughlan as Sweetie's Funeral

            Barbara Middleton as Clayton's Mum

            Kristoffer Pershouse as Boy in Tree

            Norman Phillips as Nosy Neighbor

            Ken Porter as Lead Jakaroo

            Doug Ramsey as Sweetie's Funeral

            Shirley Sheppard as Nosy Neighbor
See full cast

Sweetie (1989)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Randy T

Mark A

Cast

Trailers & Clips