Placid Lake is a young man attempting to show his anarchic side. He has three youths on his tail, who constantly beat him up, and after deciding to throw himself off a building rather than be on the end of their fists any more, he finishes up in hospital, much to the consternation of best friend Gemma (Rose Byrne) and his totally bohemian parents (Miranda Richardson is mum).

Placid decides to cut his hair and begin work in an insurance firm, where he excels in a job that gives him stability and applauds his creativity. He is given a string of perks, including sexual offers from his female compatriot, who ends up on the fast track with him. At some point, however, he must decide what he really wants, otherwise he and Gemma will end up taking divergent paths.

This is a gentle satirical Australian comedy, which, like Election and Napoleon Dynamite, concentrates on the social non-conformers and is sympathetic to their aims. Some may feel it is not quite subversive enough, but Byrne and Lee are good in the key roles and the film is very watchable, as is Placid himself, merely because his eccentricity is so likeable.