"Sirens" is quite the opposite, however, a light and airy confection that is so completely without substance that it ultimately becomes the antithesis of what it so desperately strives to be.
The charming English actor Hugh Grant plays the Rev. Campion, a young, progressive cleric who is married to the prim and proper Estella (Tara Fitzgerald), and to whom he condescendingly refers as "Piglet." She, in turn, calls him "Pooh."
When Campion is assigned to an Australian mission, he also accepts the side trip of visiting eccentric artist Norman Lindsay (Sam Neill), who has a painting about to be exhibited in London that the church finds blasphemous.
But nothing can prepare the good reverend and his wife for the affect that Lindsay's bohemian lifestyle will have on their lives.
When they arrive, they find that Lindsay and his wife (Pamela Rabe) live in a compound with his three models — Sheela (Elle MacPherson), Prue (Kate Fischer) and Giddy (Portia de Rossi).
This trio has a distinct influence on Estella's behavior, while the clergyman is distracted by his debates with Lindsay about art and morality.
A little of this goes a long way, and after awhile it becomes apparent that writer-director John Duigan ("Flirting," "Wide Sargasso Sea") has nothing to say on the subject. His dialogue is pompous and fleeting, his story and characters are uninvolving and in the end, nothing is left but pretty pictures.
And if that's all you want, you might as well settle for one of supermodel MacPherson's calendars.
"Sirens" is rated R for considerable nudity, with some sex, profanity and vulgarity.