At 17, Josie Alibrandi (Miranda) is a third-generation Alibrandi woman. Her mother (Scacchi) and grandmother (Cotta) are also fiercely independent, sharp-witted Italian Catholics. But Josie has never known her father (Lapaglia)--and doesn't really think he exists. Then his arrival in Sydney coincides with her budding romance life--will she go for the gorgeous rich John (Newton) or the scruffy, sharp-witted Jacob (Gurry)?

There's a natural humour running through this film that makes it utterly disarming--it completely sucks you into its characters and situations. Woods' direction and Marchetta's script are sometimes a bit too zingy--the dialog crackles at top speed. But they're also not afraid to turn the tone around 180 degrees at times, dipping into some wrenching emotion without losing the film's momentum at all. The performances are first-rate across the board, especially from newcomer Miranda, who captures the character with a startling authenticity that sucks us into her life in all its complexity. And while her snappy narration and wacky fantasies sometimes cross the line into farce, we still identify with the cry of her soul as she tries to figure out who she is, "Please God don't let me be a loser!"