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Brenda Blethyn plays a comedienne juggling family and an attempted comeback in Australian comedy Clubland. Part comedy-of-embarrassment, part coming-of-age drama, it shifts focus from English Jean (Blethyn) to Aussie-raised teenaged son Tim and his nervous relationship with the sexually confident Jill. Mother and son clash to amusing and poignant effect, although the dialogue's not as smart or funny as it thinks it is. In the hands of Mike Leigh, this could be a masterpiece, as it is, it's forgettable fun.

Blethyn has always excelled at playing highly strung women, and middle-aged comic Jean is no exception. A self-absorbed drama queen, she hits the bottle at the slightest setback and dotes on her children without allowing them to breathe. The adventures of her elder son Tim are sweet and involving - especially when actress Emma Booth enters the scene as brazenly seductive, but secretly insecure Jill. There's also affectionate humour involving Jean's mentally disabled son Mark, but actor Richard Wilson never fully convinces in the role, in part due to over-sophisticated dialogue.

"BLETHYN HAS A WAY WITH DIRTY WORDS"

There are some very funny scenes and moments of sharp observational humour: as ever, Blethyn is at her funniest with throwaway lines that speak volumes. But the plot doesn't have a clear emotional direction: the old if-you-love-them-set-them-free moral isn't really strong enough to carry a film that isn't consistently hilarious. Still, Blethyn and the younger Booth deliver cracking performances that balance each other nicely. A feelgood film about family, rather than for the family: that Blethyn's certainly got a way with dirty words.

Clubland is out in the UK on 21st September 2007.