Director P.J. Hogan is going back to his roots, re-teaming with Toni Collette for “Mental.” Hogan previously directed Collette in “Muriel’s Wedding,” which launched both of their careers, so with Collette being an Oscar-nominated actress and the lead in her own critically-acclaimed television series, it’s nice to see she hasn’t forgotten where she came from. By that we mean “Muriel’s Wedding,” and not the elder Mrs. Collette’s vagina. Collette would play a whacked-out nanny who becomes BFF with the five girls in her care, transforming their family life. Hm, too vague. Is it this type of transformation? Or this? Or this?
It seems like Hogan was in directorial jail after helming the box office flop “Peter Pan,” as he was recently brought on to the thankless Jerry Bruckheimer production “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” However, we’d really like to see a critical re-appraisal of “Pan” right about now, as it’s just as sturdy and entertaining an adventure film as the same period’s “Lord of the Rings” films. Yes, we know, unpopular, but true. We also like mayonnaise on our French Fries.