NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN

With his hilarious and occasionally risqué debut feature Aussie director Peter Templeman examines the innate desire (for some) to ‘grow up’, procreate and embrace parenthood. Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) plays Jonah, a freewheeling Sydneysider who is forced to re-evaluate his anarchic, party-fuelled existence when he is diagnosed with testicular cancer. Advised that the impending treatment will render him permanently infertile, but he is ineligible for sperm cryopreservation, a desperately clucky Jonah resolves to ‘sow his seed’ before it’s too late. He may be one of Australia’s hottest exports, but thankfully Kwanten continues to champion the local film industry. As with his roles in Red Hill and last year’s Griff the Invisible, the actor endears himself to viewers with a performance that tempers earnestness with boyish charm. Furthermore, the genuine chemistry between Kwanten and co-star Sarah Snook – who puts in a solid turn as Jonah’s uber-pragmatic BFF – provides the film with emotional potency. Notable for its depth of character, frank handling of life issues, off the cuff laughs and a wonderfully inelegant depiction of sex, Not Suitable for Children is hands down the best rom-com in recent memory.

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