A working-class family from Melbourne, Australia fights city hall after being told they must vacate their beloved family home to allow for infrastructural expansion.A working-class family from Melbourne, Australia fights city hall after being told they must vacate their beloved family home to allow for infrastructural expansion.A working-class family from Melbourne, Australia fights city hall after being told they must vacate their beloved family home to allow for infrastructural expansion.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 11 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe family was named Kerrigan so the filmmakers could borrow trucks from an actual tow-truck company, Kerrigan's Towing.
- GoofsWhen the characters have their final appeal to the High Court of Australia, it is before 5 Justices. However in reality, when a constitutional dispute is brought before the High Court, all 7 Justices will sit (known as the Full Bench).
- Quotes
Darryl Kerrigan: This is going straight to the pool room.
- Alternate versionsAfter some mixed sneak previews, distributor Miramax ordered some changes to the film's dialogue for the USA release and a new music score. Two noticeable differences in the US version in respect to the Australian version:
- They call the rissoles 'meatloaf'.
- Dale's narration changes the line "Tracey was the only one in our house with a tertiary education" to "Tracey was the only one in our house with a college education".
- ConnectionsEdited into Terror Nullius (2018)
- SoundtracksBaby, Now That I've Found You
(1967)
Performed by Alison Krauss
Written by Roger Nichols (uncredited) and Tony Macaulay (uncredited)
Courtesy of Larriken Entertainment Pty Ltd
Album: Now That I've Found You
Featured review
Going to Bonnie Doon!
I loved this movie! My family loved it. My friends loved it. My co-workers loved it. Even though none of us have ever been to Australia we somehow all managed to understand about 99% of the humor in this very funny and lovable film. As perplexing as this may seem to some of the Americans who didn't like it, or give it half a chance, one only needs a rudimentary knowledge of Australian culture or a modicum of intelligence about life outside the US to enjoy The Castle.
Yes, the Kerrigans are tacky. Yes, they are not the brightest people on God's earth. And no one is going to accuse Darryl Kerrigan of having an eye for real estate. But they are decent folk who look out for one another and their friends, and for this reason we come to root for them. Refreshingly, the movie gets big laughs from its quirky characters and not from crude sight gags like some movies I could mention.
Who cares if it didn't play well in the States? "This is Spinal Tap" didn't do well at the box office either, and it's one of the funniest films ever made. "The Castle", for me, goes down as one of the funniest films of the 1990's.
"How much do jousting sticks go for, Dad? Not more than 250."
Yes, the Kerrigans are tacky. Yes, they are not the brightest people on God's earth. And no one is going to accuse Darryl Kerrigan of having an eye for real estate. But they are decent folk who look out for one another and their friends, and for this reason we come to root for them. Refreshingly, the movie gets big laughs from its quirky characters and not from crude sight gags like some movies I could mention.
Who cares if it didn't play well in the States? "This is Spinal Tap" didn't do well at the box office either, and it's one of the funniest films ever made. "The Castle", for me, goes down as one of the funniest films of the 1990's.
"How much do jousting sticks go for, Dad? Not more than 250."
helpful•170
- tim thieke
- Feb 22, 2001
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $877,621
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $29,452
- May 9, 1999
- Gross worldwide
- $888,683
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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