''Standing Up for Sunny'' is a 2019

Australian film The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internati ...

comedy written and directed by Steven Vidler, and starring

RJ Mitte Roy Frank "RJ" Mitte III (; born August 21, 1992) is an American actor, best known for playing Walter "Flynn" White Jr. on the AMC series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013). Like his character on the show, he has cerebral palsy. After moving to H ...

, Sam Reid and Matt Nable.

Synopsis

An isolated man with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

is railroaded into helping an unassertive comedienne, and finds love and acceptance through

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

Cast

as Travis * Sam Reid as Mikey * Matt Nable as Male Interviewer * Barry Humphries as Himself * Ella Scott Lynch as Felicity * Philippa Northeast as Sunny

Production

Filming took place in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, New South Wales, Australia in 2018.

Release

The film premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in June 2019. It was also shown at CinefestOZ to a packed audience in September 2019. The general release date was 5 December 2019.

Reception

''Standing Up for Sunny'' received favourable reviews from Australian critics. Andrew F. Peirce of ''The Curb'' said, "It’s so rare to see a film that shines this brightly, and it’s so rare to see one that gives people with disabilities the chance to be funny". Matthew Eeles of ''Cinema Australia'' called the film, "Tender, clever and very, very funny". Julian Wood at '' Filmink'' said, "The film is certainly amiable, and the low budget gives it a sense of immediacy and authenticity". Isobel Sanby at ''Newsworthy'' gave the film four stars and stated, "What Standing Up for Sunny communicates is that it is not just representation on screen that needs to be addressed, it is accessibility holistically".

References

External links

*
Standing Up For Sunny
' at Madman Entertainment * {{IMDb title, 3174890/ 2019 films Australian comedy-drama films Films set in New South Wales Films set in the 21st century 2010s English-language films