''Jucy'' is an Australian comedy feature film produced in 2010 about the

womance A womance is a close but non-sexual, non-romantic relationship between two or more women. It is an exceptionally tight affectional, homosocial female bonding relationship exceeding that of usual friendship, and is distinguished by a particularly ...

between two best female friends. The film was written by Stephen Vagg, directed by

Louise Alston Louise Alston is an Australian film director and producer best known for the movies ''All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane'' and '' Jucy''. Biography Alston was born in Wagga Wagga, and studied at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School ...

and produced by Kelly Chapman. It is the second in a planned "

quarter life crisis In popular psychology, a quarter-life crisis is a crisis "involving anxiety over the direction and quality of one's life" which is most commonly experienced in a period ranging from a person's early twenties up to their mid-thirties (although a ...

" trilogy from Vagg and Alston following the 2007 romantic comedy ''

All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane ''All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane'' is a 2007 Australian romantic comedy film directed by Louise Alston and written by Stephen Vagg. It follows Anthea, a 25-year-old girl who hates her job and has to sit back and watch as all her friends mo ...

''.

Synopsis

''Jucy'' is a "womantic" comedy about best friends Jackie (Cindy Nelson) and Lucy (Francesca Gasteen). They're in their mid twenties but not much has changed since high school. Jackie's social anxiety is still not under control and she remains incapable of a mature relationship with a man; Lucy hasn't finished either of the university degrees she started and still lives with her mother. When the duo's relationship is attacked, they make a pact to show the world just how normal they are: Jackie decides to get a boyfriend and Lucy aims for a career move. They get a chance to complete their goal when both are cast in a stage adaptation of the

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature. She enlisted i ...

novel ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...

''. Jackie has her eye on the show's star, Alex ( Ryan Johnson), and Lucy is determined to become a professional actor to win acceptance from her sister Fleur (

Nelle Lee Nelle Lee is a Brisbane-based actress, producer and writer best known for theatre work. She is also artistic director of independent theatre company, Shake and Stir. Career She studied at the University of Southern Queensland, and graduat ...

). However it results in stress being put on their friendship, which is pushed to breaking point.

Cast

Production

The movie came out of

's experiences working with

Francesca Gasteen Francesca Gasteen is a Brisbane-based actress best known for playing the lead role in the 2010 film ''Jucy (film), Jucy'', which was partly based on the real-life friendship between herself and co-star Cindy Nelson (actor), Cindy Nelson. The film ...

and

Cindy Nelson Cynthia Lee Nelson (born August 19, 1955) is former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. Racing career Born and raised in Lutsen in northeastern Minnesota, Nelson's family ran the local ski area and she was on skis before the ...

in various plays and on the 2007 feature ''

''. She wrote the first draft of the script which was developed by writer Stephen Vagg, with further input from producer Kelly Chapman. The film was shot in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, in the suburbs of West End,

The Gap The Gap may refer to: Places Australia * The Gap, New South Wales, a locality near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales * The Gap, Northern Territory, a suburb of Alice Springs, Northern Territory * The Gap, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland ...

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

New Farm New Farm is an inner northern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , New Farm had a population of 12,542 people. Geography The suburb is located 2 kilometres east of the Brisbane CBD on a large bend of the ...

and

Ephraim Island Ephraim Island is luxury residential development located in the suburb of Paradise Point in the north of Gold Coast, Australia. The development is a joint-venture between Lewis Land and Mirvac. The island has an area of 9.6 hectares and was once ...

. Iconic Brisbane video store Trash Video is also featured.

Charlotte Gregg Charlotte Gregg (born December 1978/January 1979), also known as Charlotte Carr, is an Australian actress and blogger. She played the part of Charity Fernbrook in ''Home and Away'', who was a member of The Believers cult and prior to that was a ...

, who played the lead in ''

'', plays a support role as Dimity, a bitchy actor who torments the lead characters.

Reception

The film had its world premiere at the 2010

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

where the critic from ''Variety'' acclaimed the film as "colorfully stylized, sweet and silly" and the leads as "terrific". It was subsequently screened at the

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...

Brisbane International Film Festival The Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) is an annual film festival held in Brisbane, Australia. Organised by the Screen Culture unit at Screen Queensland, the festival has taken place since 1992, with the program including features, doc ...

, Gold Coast Film Festival, London Australia Film Festival, Scottsdale International Film Festival and International Women's Film Festival in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. ''Jucy'' was released to cinemas in Australia on 3 November 2011, starting with

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

and

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

. Louise Keller at ''Urban Cinefile'' called the film "bright and bubbly... there's vibrancy about the two lead performances - both girls are exceptionally good, and we genuinely care about their characters. The film is short and sweet with a good heart." Matthew Toomey of ABC Radio Brisbane said the movie "has a great sense of humour (some jokes left me laughing out loud) and explores a number of issues which Gen Y folk will be able to relate."'Movies with Matthew Toomey including Brisbane-made Jucy', ''ABC Radio with Spencer Howson'', 3 November 2011
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References

External links

* * {{Jane Eyre 2010 films 2010 romantic comedy films 2010s female buddy films Australian romantic comedy films 2010s English-language films