THE SUM OF US

A plumber living in Sydney with his dad, Jeff is a pretty regular guy. He knocks back pints at the pub and is looking for a permanent mate. Sounds normal, almost boring, doesn't it? But here's the twist: Jeff is gay, and father Harry accepts and encourges his son's lifestyle with an enthusiasm that borders on the meddlesome. A warm comedy of working-class manners, THE SUM OF US is a rare look at tolerance. The two men irritate, cajole, and support eachother with true affection. As Harry says: “Our Children are only the sum of us; our parents and their parents…all the generations.” Jeff is played with an easygoing, warmhearted but pigheaded nonchalance by Russell Crowe, who turned in a very different kind of lead performance in the cult hit “Romper Stomper” (17th CIFF, 1993). An veteran actor Jack Thompson let's Harry's loneliness show beneath the veneer of optimism. Based on the successful Australian play by the same name, THE SUM OF US takes in Sydney's inner-west neighborhoods and annual gay Mardi Gras. Whith tragedy and fierce acts of love.