Norman Loves Rose

An ill-conceived Frankenstein's monster of second-hand jokes and worn-out caricatures, this is a disappointment after Safran's earlier Storm Boy. While preparing for his bar mitzvah, Norman discovers sacred encouragement for his profane interest in sister-in-law Rose, and seizes the opportunity presented by his mother's absence and his brother Michael's low sperm count. Rose becomes pregnant, but refuses to reveal Norman as the father. Norman is not happy. Only Warren Mitchell's unerring sense of comic timing instils any humour into this banal film; the other characters cast only pale shadows upon the stifling Sydney suburbs.