The Deb is Rebel Wilson’s courageous directorial debut which is highly entertaining as the cast sing and dance through the Australian bush while tackling a clash of cultures where old traditions meet the glare of new scrutiny and friendships along with self-identity are tested.
In The Deb, Maeve (Charlotte MacInnes), a want-to-be TikTok teenage influencer, is sent away as punishment for exposing herself as a protest of her privileged Sydney private school’s uniform policy at a school assembly. She is sent to the outback town of Dunburn where her uncle Rick Simpkins (Shane Jacobson) is a farmer and the mayor and her similarly aged cousin Taylah (Natalie Abbott) live.
Maeve is dismayed by the life in the rustic community as her feminist concerns clash with her perceptions of the town and of her scruffy and naive cousin Taylah who is consumed with a desire to attend the local debutante ball, just like her mother (who has died) had done. Taylah is confronted by the local mean girls led by Annabelle (Stevie Jean) and Maeve decides that she will help Taylah attend the ball but plans to expose the daggy town and the ball by producing a mocking podcast. In the ensuing events both Maeve and Taylah and others search for their own uniqueness.
If a directorial debut wasn’t challenging enough, Wilson has chosen the added difficulties of a musical containing often many cast members singing and dancing in the same scene. The result, however, is a seamlessly constructed two hours for which she is to be congratulated.
The Deb is based on the original musical by Hannah Reilly with music by Meg Washington and lyrics by Washington and Reilly. It was originally staged in 2022 by the Australian Theatre for Young People and included Charlotte MacInnes and Tara Morice in the cast. Washington’s and Reilly’s excellently funny and insightful songs hold the film together without ever feeling intrusive as sometimes is the case with a musical.
Charlotte MacInnes and Natalie Abbott along with Stevie Jean inhabit their roles superbly and the incorporation of their songs in the flow of the film is smooth. Shane Jacobson and Tara Morice are as reliable as always in their roles as well as Wilson herself. They are also well supported by the rest of the cast including Steph Tisdell and a cameo by Julian McMahon.
While the overall direction of the script breaks no new ground, the subplots of The Deb are engaging as the pretension of privilege, the power (both positive and negative) of social media, the coming-of-age in the era of social media, the strength of women in rural communities and the struggle of the bush all mingle in the dust of outback Dunburn.
Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut has not been without controversy but moving past that, this thoughtful and funny film full of comic songs is charming and deserves wide audience attention.
Reviewed by Rob McKinnon
Rating; 4 out of 5
YouTube trailer: THE DEB | Official Trailer | In Cinemas April 9
Distributor: Rialto Distribution
Highly entertaining musical comedy with heart set in the dusty Australian bush.
