Young Einstein

Hyped with much the same spirit of vigorous nationalism as Paul Hogan and Castlemaine XXXX, this proves decidedly less successful. As writer/director/co-producer, Yahoo Serious (born Greg Pead) casts himself as turn-of-the-century entreprenueur Albert Einstein, who creates the theory of atomic energy in order to put bubbles into beer. Setting off from his parents' Tasmanian apple farm, he heads for Sydney to patent his idea. A human dynamo, he falls in love with scientist Marie Curie (studying at Sydney University), dreams up the Theory of Relativity, invents the surfboard, and devises rock'n'roll. The episodic structure and slapstick humour keep the pace superficially bubbling along, but given a flimsy intellectual base, form and content are at odds with one another. Ultimately, a delirious sense of unwavering optimism lacks the perspective of decent comedy.