User Reviews

I saw this at the first screening in Melbourne. It was one of the worst films I have ever seen. Not only is it extremely sexist and degrading to woman. It is wooden and has the worst written script ever! The director clearly has no idea about woman and directing actors or anything to do with film making.

For a film that claims to be a 'Must see' I feel cheated out of hour or so I spent thinking up ways to leave the cinema. There is no story really. Simply a woman who's life isn't that bad gets a good apartment with a black dress in it and that dress changes here life. Sound exciting? It's not! 1 out of 10

Surprises aren't always a good thing. But this one was. Little Black Dress was certainly a surprise. I expected the standard gospel of romance according to Hollywood in which boy-meets-girl or girl-has crush-on-boy (or crush-on-boss a la the latter day norm). Well Little Black Dress manages a polite nod to the genre, but also an equally polite grin.

The story is a little on the prickly side and method in their madness is definitely a part of this movie-making palette. Sometimes it's even a fine line trying to tell if satire isn't actually the aim, such as lots of jokes about star signs. Are they trying to relate or relativise? Or is just funny because it is? The characters are another example. They're definitely built to throw you off. Sandy Greenwood is rather good in the role of the cutesy leading lady and does look very pretty. But that's about all she does until she's given something to do. She makes up for lost time. Hardly a Hollywood damsel in distress trajectory but that's got to be good thing. She definitely steals the show.

Her co-star Anna Choy is just perfect as a kind of larger than life TV presenter. She's either gregarious or grating, but it's so much like the star sign thing; is it deliberate or inadvertent? So if you're looking for a surprise package you'll probably take to this one. It's a delight in its own way, with the added benefit of not offering up standard syrupy fare. The eye candy and firecracker laden story isn't pitched one way or the other. It is a chick flick, but one that's full of bombshells and ravishing shots of Australia. Maybe one or two shocks too many certainly. The direction does get very heavy handed too in the way the story stops and starts and plays with moods. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But an unbridled cheekiness left this viewer smiling.

Little Black Dress is a surprising movie. With a name like that, you expect a stereotypical chick flick, full of frivolity and sappy romance. Instead you get strong characters, edgy humour and a sense of destiny. And a rock soundtrack. Like I said, surprising. Pleasantly unexpected.

The story revolves around Ebony Mason, a young woman who is stuck in a rut. In a departure from her usual self, she impulsively rents an apartment she cannot afford. Instead of this being her undoing, it opens up a whole new world to her, and you guessed it, there's a little black dress that is instrumental. For all you romantics, yes, there is a man, Lawrence Carver, a and imposing and prodigious television producer who makes Ebony a television star - but not the sort you expect. And then there is the other female lead - Tarni, a feisty television hostess who adds glamour and spunk to the film.

It's a movie within a movie, and though slow to start, it delivers unexpected twists and turns just so don't get too comfortable! Smartly scripted with sharp dialogue, a brilliant idea, fresh humour, and a touch of the supernatural that keeps you guessing, Little Black Dress is certainly interesting. Add to this two capable lead actresses, a smouldering and intriguing male lead, superbly crafted roles and soaring rock music, and you have a winner. Not to mention the refreshing, and much welcomed casting of an Asian and Aboriginal lead. Surprised? I warned you, didn't I?

Little Black Dress will remind you of lots of things because it's a romcom and it reminded me the most of other romcoms. Obviously! There's only so much you can do with this kind of genre. I liked the way the script here tried to work on different levels, even if i'm not sure it sustained it all the way to the end. The plot is a pretty straight forward rags-to-riches story of a girl that gets a TV role and falls for the producer. I'm not going to ruin the ending, but the "com" part of romcom is "comedy" right? so that means happy ending. The problem here is it sort of happened too fast. Maybe I just preferred the more dramatic parts of the story, which I think is where this movie worked best. It gets real dark when the producer just does some strange things that turn him into the villain and back again and then the same over. If that all sounds complicated it's not because the actor (Kain Baigent) is really hard to hate. The girl in the lead is pretty sweet too (Sandy Greenwood), but because this film's an indie you prbably won't know the faces.

Hey this is my first review, hope you like it! I watch lots of movies and I think this movie is a really awesome. You know what it is it's a chick flick that's lots of fun!

It's about a girl who becomes a television star and then gets dumped LOL - but she's too smart for that. The crazy part is what she does to make him pay. She drives him crazy!

I can't find much out about this film but hey see it when it comes out! I think it's pretty good and funny. The dress is hot! The Chinese chick who has her own show too is cool and she's funny too. See it! I loved it!

You may or you may not have heard of this movie. LITTLE BLACK DRESS is the name and it's a good name for a romcom that takes the genre to a new level altogether. In fact I found myself thinking of a comment I'd read in a review somewhere about the recent spate of superhero movies where you got the feeling that they weren't so much watching superhero stories, as much as stories with a superhero setting. That's something this inventive take on boy meets girl does uncommonly well. It locates the narrative in one place, but gives you characters that transcend the narrative facade again and again.

The set up is all very conventional with our heroine feeling sorry for herself but managing a smile and even a bit of harmless flirting. She does all the things the modern girls does - drinks coffee with lo-cal milk, jogs, worries about money and thinks a lot about her star sign (and the guy she falls for). But that's where LITTLE BLACK DRESS gets the ball rolling. From there it's a roller-coaster ride that i'll draw a line on spilling too much about.

What is worth commending is the female characters. The girl who finds the dress is called Ebony. The name sits nicely with the picture of her as she changes from victim of a nice and very modern Warholian fate, to an all-grown-up-now mastery of her own destiny. It's a journey well worth the trip. But everyone in this movie goes on a journey of sorts, from the hilarious show host called Teni (another just right name), to the part of the package best friend. The harder to pin down character is the man in her life. He's the total package with looks and money and power, which is a put off until you realize it's a put on.

Without even seeing this movie you can guess what it looks like. It's an indie picture but with a look that goes with the title. The director (who also wrote it) almost makes the mistake of taking his time (or rushing) that all writer/directors make if unchecked. The music another majorly modern departure with less sop and more drive. All of which helps LITTLE BLACK DRESS what I said earlier - hitting the mark.

Well, I'm going to answer my own question and say that I know a movie's good when my boyfriend likes it! His favourite movie is Pearl Harbor! At least that's got a crappy love story in there too, so a better example is his other favorite movie - Rush Hour.

I wanted to see Little Black Dress because I heard the star was an Asian actor. There is an Asian girl in a big role, but the star looks more like Liv Tyler type to me. She's a stunner alright. Everyone in this movie is gorgeous enough for the catwalk. But they can act too, and the story is so different and just changes on you without doing dumb gimmicky things.

That's what I loved the most, the fact that Little Black Dress is one of the fews i've ever seen that just doesn't stop. What I mean is that most movies start, and then something happens, then you know a few other things have to happen before the story can end. But Little Black Dress keeps going and going in such a confident and non-stop way. Sometimes I guess I did seem a little lost, but that almost seemed to be part of the plan when I thought about it.

So what's it about, and why am I loving it? Well it's about a girl who gets her own reality TV show and wins all these prizes and even makes the producer get a thing for her. It's pretty insane and wild. Everything goes wrong though and the dramas happen very quickly, which is where it got confusing. But like I said, you won't get bored. I love the music too. There were some scenes where the film looked like a video for a singer or something.

This was a treat to see and I recommend it to anyone that's a romantic but doesn't just want seen-it-before romance. One other thing too, Australia looks great in this movie! A nice postcard I thought.

The way I see it, it takes a lot to inject smarts into a throwaway genre like romantic comedy. Plot twists and one liners are no big deal unless you can stretch the illusion across a story that keeps you guessing, makes you think, and is all held together with characters that either make you dream or make you angry (and everything in between). Well that's exactly what you get in this independent Australian film called 'Little Black Dress'. It's about a girl who gets to live every girl's modern dream of owning everything and being recognized everywhere. You can throw some man of your dreams into the mix too. I'm giving it a 9 out of 10 because I normally avoid romantic comedies. That should tell you something.

Little black Dress is a funny film about beautiful things. But it's an even funnier film about ugly things. The beautiful things are the people, the lifestyle and dreams. The ugly things are the very same thing. It's the kind of comedy that will make you laugh even when you know it's wrong to laugh. Cinematically it's a juxtapositary exercise (cinema and television) channelled through a post modern awareness of the battle of the sexes. But it does all this without daring to let you forget the male gaze is on trial. How can it not be when the genre is romantic comedy, albeit in a an updated screwball comedy two step.

The film is directed by the Noah Brothers and stars largely unknowns (to this viewer at least). But this level of anonymity achieves an efficacy of it's own, because the film is about achieving instant fame. Would you believe it if the highest paid female actor in Hollywood was cast as an unknown. Suspension of disbelief does not encapsulate credulity does it? I have read some of the other reviews before adding my own, and yes I agree that this film does plot twists remarkably well. You would do well to see it.

Look another romantic comedy! Great for popcorn sales I guess. But I don't know what to compare this one to. It's pretty different and I don't want to give too much away, because what grabbed was that it kept me guessing. The story's about a girl who finds a black dress that makes good things happen. It's all very mysterious and glamorous, and so, so funny. I don't see many Australian movies - they sort of go on and on. This one didn't drag for a second and the twists kept coming. The far fetched stuff was all part of the mystery I suppose (will someone please explain the door with the music!), but here and there you got the kind of heart stopping deep and meaningful moment that really delivers. The girl playing Ebony, the one who finds the dress, looked familiar but I'm not sure from where. She was cute and perfect in the part. The Asian television star was hilarious, she used to be on TV I think, but I don't think it was the same sort of show. The guy who played the producer is your typical hunk. I don't know where you can see this movie yet, because I saw it with my partner when we got an invite for a charity night. I give it out 8 out of 10 for love and laughs........

I saw "Little Black Dress" at an advanced screening at Federation Square in Melbourne. One part predictable, and nine parts unpredictable. In fact nine parts "I didn't see that coming". It's a great love story, but of course, being a chick flick, there's a healthy heaping of drama as well. The whole story got kicked up a notch from your usual rom-com pretty quickly when the lead female shoots to stardom. I really liked the way they used the TV show within the film to tell the story. It's actually a pretty good idea for an actual TV show. Wouldn't be surprised if it made it's way to one of the big networks.

I liked the cast. Sandra Greenwood is great as the girl in the little black dress. Her character isn't one of those characters that just lets the world walk all over her, which is cool for a change, and you're always in her corner right to the end. Kane Baigent as the guy she falls for has got the looks and suits, but normally those dudes are boring to watch. They walk in and out and their hair never moves. If Kane Baigent ends up big they should make him the next James Bond or something. The guy's cool AND funny. It was pretty cool seeing places in Melbourne I recognized too.

All in all a refreshing little Aussie film.