If there was any justice, this movie would destroy tripe like "The Butler" in the Oscar races. Since they both deal with racism, but this one isn't so ham fisted and preachy. This is a fun romp with great music and genuine heartfelt performances. Great characters and wonderful. I loved it. It may surprise people come March.

What I most enjoyed about this movie is that, as an American, I got to see another part of racism that parrots our own. The insidious ways in which the "upperclass" continually find ways to gentrify a culture. This message is NOT overt though (like in "The Butler") It's subtle in it's slow burn. And these girls also face real problems. One is a single mother, another racked with guilt over the past, one that dreams of bigger stardom, and one that just loves seeing the world. This is an amazing ensemble that feels so real. The people feel real. The moments are recaptured on such a low budget scale, it's impressive. I marveled at their ingenuity and really happy I saw it. One of the best of the year.

The Sapphires (2012)

Wow, can I just say, "super cute" and leave it at that? It's a total feel good story about four Aborigine Aussies who can sing! And they sing their way (via Motown and R&B) to Vietnam in front of American troops, who love it.

And so you have to love it. The music soars, the tragedy of the war is held out of view but is implied in different ways, and the abilities of these young women make it all heartwarming. And impressive. Against the odds kind of material.

The one additional actor who is key is Chris O'Dowd, playing a down on his luck musician. He sees, barely, the talent of these women and decides to "manage" them, which he really does pretty well, helping them apply to a contest. And so on, to the "top" of the short ladder they are climbing. There are no gold records here, just good music. O'Dowd is comic relief, but also at ease and stabilizing to the movie, adding a necessary second layer. A good fit.

That's the long and the short of it. The Sapphires were real (and at the end of the movie you see a tiny bit of the real women). They were a cover band, you might say, but a really sweet and talented cover band. And they chose music that had soul, that mattered to the times, the late 1960s. Good stuff. Just enjoy it.

It's easy to be cynical about this film -- yes the plot is a little clunky and some of the lines are cheesy. But it is a hugely enjoyable movie, with lots of good points. The four girl actors are all great and they don't over-play their parts. When the girls arrive in Vietnam you get a sense of how very young and wide-eyed they are, despite their wisecracks. Chris O'Dowd as the Irish manager is hilarious, although he doesn't venture far from his character on Bridesmaids, or TV's IT Crowd -- that is, the bumbling but endearing Irish sweetie. The music and costumes are fantastic and the cinematography is lovely. I loved how Aborigines were portrayed as being strong and loving, and how many Aborigines have white as well as black blood, and struggle to straddle both cultures. The film provides a slightly sanitised, but still worthwhile, picture of an interesting time in Australian, and world, history.