The Clinic *** (1982, Chris Haywood, Simon Burke, Gerda Nicolson) – Classic Movie Review 7332

Director David Stevens’s commendable 1983 Australian comedy The Clinic looks at just an average day in an Aussie VD and sex-ailment clinic, as patients come and go, while cynical doctor Eric Linden (Chris Haywood) looks over timid medical student Paul (Simon Burke)’s stumbling efforts.

This jolly movie mixes adult sex farce with soap opera and comes up with plenty of laughs. The amusing and revealing script hits the right tone, with just a degree of good-natured seriousness underlying the fun. Greg Millin’s screenplay is full of funny lines and situations, but people and their problems are taken seriously. Thankfully, and amazingly given the opportunities, there is no smut and no snickering at impotence, premature ejaculation or gays.

Also in the cast are Gerda Nicolson, Rona McLeod, Suzanne Roylance, Veronica Lang, Pat Evison, Max Bruch, Gabrielle Hartley, Jane Clifton, Ned Lander, Martin Sharman, Tom Travers, Tony Rickards, Mark Little, Betty Bobbit, Marilyn O’Donnell, Geoff Parry, Laurence Mah, Paul Kuek, Danny Nash and Alan Pentland.

Screen-writer Millin worked at a VD clinic for three years, so he knows what he’s talking about, and seeks to provide a bit of public information on safe sexual practices and sexually transmitted diseases too.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7332

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