Hey Hey Its Esther Blueburger

Hey Hey It’s Esther Blueburger

I have found that most Australian films that come to North America are excellent. They have a different type of humor. I adored this film but I caution you that it is quirky.

Esther Blueberger goes to a private girl’s school. She is more than an outsider. Mean tricks are played on her. She eats indoors rather than face all the girls who are eating outside. They make up names for her and treat her badly. I wanted to laugh at some of the antics. At one point she did something wrong and her punishment was to clean the toilets. She is so angry and frustrated and talks to G-d in the toilet bowl. I had to laugh but at the same time my heart broke for a young girl so ostracized and bullied. Bullying is never a funny game.

Esther’s family is quite a piece of work. Her twin brother is obsessed with numbers. He also is a bit of a loner. The mother appears to be caring on the surface. As the film develops we see that she doesn’t actively listen to her children. It is as if the children and the parents are functioning on different levels.

The mother is more interested in the details of the twins Bar Mitvah than the children’s feelings. She doesn’t get it that Esther doesn’t have any friends and nobody is coming to the party. That part really broke my heart.

The Bar Mitvah scene was hilarious. The camera zooms in on the faces of the guests at a close range so that they all look like caricatures.

Esther develops a friendship with Sunni. She is played by the Keisha Castle-Hughes from Whale Watcher. She belongs to a group of girls who are mean. She is a free spirit. The two girls are so different but Sunni helps Esther to gain some sense of self and to be more assertive.

Esther meets Sunni on the night of her Bat Mitvah party. Esther is dressed in a childish little yellow frock. Sunni is on the street wearing jean shorts. Sunni is invited to the party. It was great to see Sunni and Esther dancing and having a wonderful time together. The two were so different but helped one another cope with problems

Sunni takes Esther to her school. Nobody seems to realize that she has not registered. A funny scene shows the different types of girls at the school, nerds, pony club, wax heads and loli pops. This may be stereotyping but it has a ring of truth.

Suni’s mother is also a free spirit played by the wonderful Toni Collette. She works as a dancer in a club and wants to improve her life. She and her daughter Sunni are so close unlike Esther and her mother. Esther is accepted in Sunni’s household as an equal. I loved the scene where Sunni, her mother and Esther are all enjoying peanut butter from the jar. The characters were all so real and believable.

To make a good story you have to have conflict. There was plenty to go around.

Esther is always in conflict with her family. She leaves her fancy school and her parents aren’t even aware. I found it troubling to see Esther such a loner. Her parents were oblivious to her inner needs.

Sunni is so close to her mother but they also have problems to face.

The acting is superb. Danielle Catanzarita is absolutely fantastic as Esther. She plays the part to perfection. I predict that this young lady will have a great film future.