Matt Furlani as O’Hara in director JJ DeCeglie’s Can’t Win. Do Try.

Can’t Win. Do Try.

Written and Directed by JJ DeCeglie
Produced by Simon Camp and JJ DeCeglie
Starring Adriane Daff, Christopher Millington, Tanya Jade, Matt Furlani, Fiannah de Rue, Chris Reid, Harry Quinlan, Cj Hampson, Chelsea Gibson and Aimee Nicholls

“It’s laugh-out-loud funny, batshit crazy and likely the most fun you’ll have watching a movie all year.”

Can’t Win. Do Try. is an absolute breath of fresh air. Rarely does an Australian film come along that catches you so off guard that it knocks you for six – that’s how bloody brilliant this is.

While Can’t Win. Do Try. is very much a genre film – a rom-com at its heart – directer JJ DeCeglie puts his own, very unique spin on how this story is told. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, batshit crazy and likely the most fun you’ll have watching a movie all year.

Influenced by his best mate Jez (Christopher Millington), Gordan (Harry Quinlan) convinces his rather bitchy finance, Kelly (Adriane Daff), to turn their recently purchased home into a bachelor pad for a year before they get hitched. Their new roommate, O’Hara (Matt Furlani) turns out to be a complete nutcase who upsets the balance of his new friend’s ordinary lives with hilarious and unfortunate consequences.

Shot by David Le May, Can’t Win. Do Try. also has some of the finest cinematography we’ve seen in a while. It’s captured and coloured beautifully making it stunningly gorgeous to look at. It’s also worth noting that the film boasts a rocking soundtrack from Perth bands Doctopus and Bikini Cops.

With the film’s director and all the technicalities aside, the most powerful aspect of the film comes from the performances. Every single one of the young cast – many making their feature film debuts – are in top form here, no matter the scope of their character. Audiences will be instantly drawn to Matt Furlani’s O’Hara – the film’s mentally challenged, bi-sexual, innapropriate bastard.

It’s hard not to draw comparisons when watching a filmmaker who’s relatively new to his craft (this is DeCeglie’s second feature) and some of Can’t Win. Do Try. reminded me of Kevin Smith’s early film’s like Clerks and Mallrats. Much different to DeCeglie’s previous film, the unsettling Jugular.

Can’t Win. Do Try. is hard to fault. It’s not for everyone and could easily have been cut by about twenty minutes but it’s certainly the surprise package of 2016. Seek it out.

by Matthew Eeles

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