Goddess hits all the right notes

Enthusiastic: Laura Michelle Kelly. Source: Supplied

MOVIE REVIEW: This chirpy little Australian-made feelgood affair goes quite well in its own happily unpretentious way.

The crucial need-to-know for most intrepid film goers will be the unavoidable fact Goddess is a musical. An original musical at that, chock full of tunes your ears have never heard before.

While I'm no card-carrying fan of musicals myself, I can honestly report Goddess should not be dismissed just because its lead character has the potentially annoying habit of suddenly breaking into song.

To the film's credit, its accessible plot has a very relevant reason for all the wanton warbling.

What's more, the songs themselves are actually quite catchy - if middle-of-the-road pop a la Mamma Mia! is your thing.

British import Laura Michelle Kelly stars as Elspeth, a housewife in rural Tasmania who finds fame and fortune when her video blog goes viral.

With her husband (Ronan Keating) often away working in Antarctica, Elspeth (an aspiring singer-songwriter in her youth) kills all that spare time performing her own compositions to a webcam stationed in her kitchen.

Elspeth's ditties are generally jaunty, genial grizzles about cleaning house and rearing kids, which soon has the whole world logging on and nodding knowingly in unison.

The Elspeth phenomenon soon gets the attention of a cynical Sydney advertising guru (Magda Szubanski), who whisks her up to Sin City to become the face of a new lady-friendly campaign of some sort.

As daft as the premise proves to be, this likeably lightweight movie never works its way out of the viewer's good graces.

The key is the sheer infectious enthusiasm Kelly brings to her role. Though the supporting ranks are packed with corny turns, she does not allow the real warmth and sincerity of her performance to subside for a moment.

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Goddess [PG]

Rating: 3/5

Director: Mark Lamprell (My Mother Frank)

Starring: Laura Michelle Kelly, Ronan Keating, Magda Szubanski, Dustin Clare

"Vocal, viral, very nice"

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