Pearls And Pigs

Four goofball twentysomething brothers share a flat. In between drinking binges and karaoke, their equally goofy dad organises a stick up at the local liquor store. It goes horribly wrong and dad is sent to jail. Leaderless, directionless and jobless, the four hang around the same karaoke bar, bored senseless, until one day their nine-year-old half sister Saara (Amanda Pilke) is dumped on their doorstep by their wicked, drunken mother. And who says alcoholism isn't endemic in Finland?

When Saara arrives, Läde - the good looking sympathetic brother - overhears her singing along on their karaoke video and decides that she'd be an ideal candidate for the Superkid competition, which, if she wins, would land them 20,000 Euros.

Struggling to fit into the boys' dirty humdrum life, Saara is a little perturbed by the whole thing. But then Laura (Laura Birn), the pub karaoke star, comes on the scene, after Lade convinces her that he's better than the losers she hangs out with. Taking a shining to Lade, she spends more and more time in the flat and helps Saara win the Superkid Eastern Finland finals. Unfortunately for Saara, the press coverage brings the mother back onto the scene, hoping to capitalise on the prize money, if Saara wins the overall competition.

Pearls And Pigs has the potential to be a decent comedy. The farcical scenes in the liquor store and the boys' outrageous behavior are funny for a little while. Likewise, Saara's capers with Laura and her brothers, while singing in the flat, are often endearing and at times hilarious. But the pace is sluggish and the boys' Beavis and Butthead lifestyle soon becomes tiresome and Laura's character, which eventually instils some sensible direction into an aimless story, is far too long in coming.

What should have been a delicate, bittersweet comedy becomes a long-winded caper that fails to capitalise on its raw materials. Alcohol and abusive/irresponsible parents, juxtaposed with music and humour, sounds like just the right recipe, but despite the feelgood ending, it is overcooked by a good 20 minutes.