Any film that can get you to leave the theater singing and dancing to an infectious tune with the lyrics, "There's nothing I would rather be than to be an Aborigine!" must be fun and original. A masterpiece it isn't, but Australian musical Bran Nue Dae is certainly worth the price of admission, and is destined to become a cult favorite in the not-too-distant future.

This rough-hewn Australian musical is like an Aboriginal version of High School Musical circa 1965. It's based on a stage production by the popular Aboriginal band Jimmy Chi and Kuckles, and written for screen and directed by Rachel Perkins, and, as you can imagine, very popular with the indiginous people of Australia, but it's uncertain whether it will catch on with American audiences. Just as Baz Luhrmann's Stricktly Ballroom, I think it just might.

It begins in the beachside town of remote Broome, Australia, where an Aboriginal teenager attempts to adapt to Western culture, with varying degrees of success. What Willie (Rocky McKenzie) really wants to do is fish and hangout with his girl Rosie (Jessica Mauboy), but his Christian zealot single mother has other plans for him. She sends him off to Bible boarding school in the big city to become a priest.

The headmaster of the school is a dubious, hidden agenda bearing priest (Geoffrey Rush), who bribes all around him with Coke and candy bars, and has a particular interest in Willie. When Willie has had enough of the school, he runs away, and meets an interesting cast of characters as he attempts to make it back home to Broome. Rush, by the way, is probably the only actor you will recognize in the film. Most of the rest are Australian locals, some talented, some not-so-much.

The plot is silly and full of holes, the choreography is coarse, and most of the acting is way over the top, but that doesn't mean it's not a lot of fun to watch. It's a truly original effort in this day of tired sequels and remakes, and it's always interesting to get a taste of a completely different culture that you might not have known much about. It's been described as an introduction to Aussiewood, and to me it has the same charm as a Violet Crumble -- sweet, crunchy, airy and a guilty pleasure.