‘Nude Tuesday’ – Review
The cinema has always been a place for new ideas and works of art that push the boundary, and they don’t get more boundary-pushing than Armagan Ballantyne’s Nude Tuesday.
To rekindle the spark in their troubled marriage, 40-somethings Laura (Jackie van Beet) and Bruno (Damon Herriman) head to a three-day couples’ retreat run by relationship and sexual healing guru Bjorg Rasmussen (Jemaine Clement). Upon arrival, the path to their reconnection is met with hilarious and increasingly absurd farce.
Pushing the edge in every possible way, director Armagan Ballantyne’s Nude Tuesday is a crazy, dry comedy of relationships, love, absurdity and full-on frontal nudity. And audiences seeking something completely different will be very impressed. Written by and starring Jackie van Beet in the lead role, Nude Tuesday is a film told in gibberish, and I do mean literally. With hilariously included subtitles, Nude Tuesday tells the story of married couple Laura (van Beet) and Bruno (Damon Herriman) who have reached a crisis point in their marriage and so decide to attend an impromptu couple retreated, hosted by world renown love guru Bjorg Rasmussen (Jemaine Clement), and moment by moment this is a film that gets more absurd by the minute.
With plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, and full-on dry comedy, Nude Tuesday is a film where the unexpected happens and you’re taken by surprise minute by minute. Thanks to its spoken gibberish, and crazy setting you’re not sure what will happen next. In this wild situation, van Beet can examine modern relationships and just what their benefits and pitfalls are. Both van Beet and Herriman bring an everyday quality to their characters and their reactions and experiences get weirder as they’re brought into the thoroughly bonkers presence of love guru Bjorg (Clement).
If Nude Tuesday has an ace up its sleeve it’s certainly noted Kiwi comedy star Jemaine Clement who is perfectly cast as love guru Bjorg Rasmussen, who is sought out for his understanding and mastery of relationships. And he’s a hoot to watch. Possessing no inhibitions, Bjorg comes off as a bit of sleaze at times, and Clement digs out the idiocy that lies at the heart of this character. Clement’s portrayal of Bjorg hinges on a full-on method acting style, and he has no inhibitions about getting his kit off and leading the nudity that appears on screen. And yes there are a lot of naked people present in Nude Tuesday. Clement steals every single scene that he appears in and he’s an absolute riot as Bjorg.
Nude Tuesday is a film for audiences who want something completely different and unexpected. With its original premise and precise dry comedy, it’s a totally unique film experience. You certainly won’t forget it.
Image: MadMan Films
