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DVD: Rebel Wilson & Olivia Newton-John – A FEW BEST MEN

Thrilled to see A FEW BEST MEN finally get a DVD and On-Demand release here in the USA.

I got to attend the world premiere a couple of years ago in Australia and thoroughly enjoyed it. Olivia Newton-John breaks out of “good girl” mode and gives her funniest performance to date.

And, of course, PITCH PERFECT star Rebel Wilson never disappoints. Plus, side men Xavier Samuel and Kevin Bishop are hysterical at those “best men.”

Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect) and Olivia Newton-John (Grease) deliver massive laughs in this wickedly funny comedy about supporting your best friends “for better or for worse.”

When David unexpectedly gets engaged during a whirlwind vacation, his best friends are determined to send him off into married life in signature style.

But when they arrive in Australia for the ceremony, the nuptial plans go from bad to worse as the guys discover that unpredictable relatives, a cross-dressing sheep and a deranged drug dealer don’t necessarily add up to a match made in heaven.

It’s going to be a day no one will forget in this hilarious film also starring Laura Brent (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader), Xavier Samuel (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2), Kris Marshall (Love Actually) and Kevin Bishop (Muppet Treasure Island).

Available May 5th.

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The Candi & Randy Show: Welcome Back

Sunday night on The Candi & Randy Show we talked about my recent adventure ‘down-under’ to Australia for the premiere of Olivia Newton-John’s new movie “A Few Best Men” – which opened this weekend to the best box office numbers for an Australian comedy in 12 years!

Click here to listen to the show.

We also talk about the men of Australia, my stay at Olivia’s fantastic award-winning Gaia Resort and Spa, go on a walking tour of Melbourne with Olivia and a few other adventures along the way.

Plus we play a few tracks from the soundtrack of “A Few Best Men” featuring Olivia.

So hit play and find out what a movie red carpet is like, plus what it’s like to almost miss your international plane ride home.

If you’d rather download from iTunes for free and listen at your leisure – here’s the link.

(There’s a mandatory ad at the beginning that the player doesn’t play, just give it about 15 seconds…)

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Good review for Olivia Newton-John in “A Few Best Men”

From ABC Radio National: An English lad marrying an Australian girl from a well heeled family invites his English flatmates to support him and be best men at his wedding.

The latest film from Stephan Elliott gives us very broad, sometimes crass comedy, and many jokes about drugs and a kidnapped sheep.

Xavier Samuel plays David, who meets Australian Mia on a Pacific Island. Jonathan Biggins plays her pompous father, a senator devoted equally to his prize ram Ramsy and the idea of founding a political dynasty.

The standout moments are all with Olivia Newton-John, who steals the show as the mother of the bride, and the resentful wife of a politico husband. When she’s onscreen the whole thing lifts.  She still has an extraordinary magic.

There are some nicely wrought bit performances, but I guess I just didn’t take to The Lads. The screenplay is by Dean Craig, who also wrote the wonderful comedy Death at a Funeral.

If you compare the two, what made Death at a Funeral funny was the restraint of director Frank Oz, who let people get into their characters and then let the absurd situations speak for themselves.

The direction here is encouraging everyone to go way, way over the top: I’m afraid I have to agree with an English critic who wrote: this is the Stephan Elliot of Welcome to Woop Woop, rather than the Stephan Elliot of Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

But hey… if your taste runs to lots of crass: it may give you a good night out. At least to see Olivia Newton-John swing from a chandelier. It’s rated MA.

Listen to the review here.

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From the premiere of “A Few Best Men”

With Stephan Elliott (director) and Olivia and Michael right before they hit the White Carpet
for the premiere of “A Few Best Men”

Olivia Newton-John, Xavier Samuel (also from the Twilight movies),
Michael and I at the post-premiere party for “A Few Best Men”
The cast faces the photographers before the screening
at the premiere

Quick video of the upstairs section of the party right before the cast 
got there.  I ran there when we arrived because the downstairs was packed
already as you’ll see on the video.  I’m a bit claustrophobic, so I went 
upstairs to get a breath of air.  Within minutes the upstairs was packed as well.
Great party for the cast after the movie was so well received by the audience.
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Olivia Newton-John enjoying her latest movie roles

Click pic for larger view

Olivia Newton-John has truly said goodbye to Sandra Dee with her latest film role.

She plays the cocaine-snorting mother of the bride, Barbara, in the Australian comedy A Few Best Men.

“When I read the script I thought it was hysterical,” Newton-John said.

“She was a character, and I didn’t know quite how I was going to do that, go there (with drugs), but I thought it would be really a blast.

“Really the reason for me to do anything now is fun. Glee was fun, I did a movie in Canada that was a musical a year ago and that was fun, and this was hilarious. It’s a blast, I never thought I’d still be doing it.”

In the film, Xavier Samuel plays the English groom who flies in to marry his Blue Mountains bride. But his three best mates – and one celebrity sheep named Ramsy – are in the way with drunken shenanigans.

Newton-John will be hoping life doesn’t imitate art when her daughter Chloe Lattanzi gets married.

While a date is yet to be set for the nuptials, mum has already checked out her soon to be son-in-law’s options for best man.

“I’ve met his friends, they’re all nice blokes and they’re not coming from another country,” she said.
(source)

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Olivia Newton-John on The Kyle & Jackie O Show

Promoting her new movie “A Few Best Men,” Olivia Newton-John visited The Kyle & Jackie O Show. The video clip above is the second half of her interview.

You can hear the entire interview here.

To explain a bit: on arrival, Olivia was told that Jackie always wanted to sing “Summer Nights” from GREASE with Olivia. So Olivia was asked – on the spot – if she would play along, dress up in GREASE costume pieces and sing along with Kyle and Jackie. Thus, the ‘Pink Lady’ outfits for Olivia and Jackie. Ah, the fun of morning radio.

Olivia played along with the fun.

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Olivia enters the White Carpet – premiere of “A Few Best Men”

I just wanted to give a sense of what it was like as Olivia and her director Stephan Elliott arrived on the White Carpet for the premiere of “A Few Best Men” in Sydney, Australia.

Just as Olivia arrived to face the first throng of photographers, a fan in a wheel chair asked Oivia for an autograph and a photo which Olivia didn’t hesitate to do. Then she and Stephan step in front of the first set of photographers. After lots of flashes, Stephan pulls Olivia over to the first of many interviews on the White Carpet. I panned down the carpet so you could get a sense of how packed and wild the scene was.