Rating: Summary: Charming Irish Flavoured Comedy Review: Set on a small Island off the cost of Ireland this has a Father Ted feel to it. This is both a good thing and a bad thing, since there is a tendency to rely on cosiness when portraying the Republic in film and television, and to populate beuatiful scenery with stereotyped "Eejits". To some extent Waking Ned fals into this trap, but it is saved by a Ted-like anarchy and a better than average plot. It's also great to see David Kelly in particular in a starring role, he will be familiar to fans of Fawlty Towers as O'Reilly the builder.
Rating: Summary: This movie is a great stress reliever! Review: Haven't really much to add to the previous reviews, except to say that, unlike some of the reviewers, I found it very funny. And yes it was very charming and did a good job with all the Celtic atmosphere. Anyone who could not laugh at the motorcycle scene could not be fully alive. Perhaps the pig smell plot was a bit overdone, but, in general, it was very humorous. And the ending was really quite a twist! See it on a day that you are feeling down; it will help.
Rating: Summary: Amusing, Likeable Comedy Not For Kids Review: Ned Devine lives in a small, rural, old-fashioned Irish village and wins the national lottery. Unfortunately, the shock of winning gives him an immediate and fatal heart-attack. The entire village, led by two of Ned's friends, conspire to collect and share the money by impersonating Ned and fooling the lottery officials.Lots of beautiful scenery. The Irish accents are sometimes difficult to understand. Ian Bannen and David Kelly are wonderful as the two who run the impersonation scam. They make perfect old scoundrels or curmudgeons. Everyone seems believable as inhabitants of a small, rural Irish village. This is a movie that makes you laugh occasionally but smile a lot. The naked motorcycle ride is hilarious, as is the village "witch" going over the cliff (apparently without her broomstick). While there is little profanity, no sex, and little nudity (one wrinkly old man), this is not a movie for kids because the whole theme revolves around cheering for a group of likeable but dishonest people who are tying to cheat the government. Adults will understand the "suspension of disbelief" needed and the line between fact and fiction (I hope), but children don't need dishonesty being modeled for them, especially by the good guys. Very amusing, occasionally hilarious, very likeable. Avoid this film if you can't handle foreign accents or overdose easily on quaint Irish charm.
Rating: Summary: Not laugh-out-loud funny...but very amusing Review: I enjoyed watching this movie very much, but it was not what I expected. I was looking for something to make me laugh, and I didn't find it here. Waking Ned Devine is a very amusing-heart warming felt story of a man that wins the lottery, only to wind up dead. Doesn't sound very heart warming now does it, but it is. Ned's two friends are the ones that find the ticket, and that's when it all comes together. This is actually a story of two very close friends from a very small town that would like to hit it rich, and find out that money isn't as important as friendship and community. Don't get me wrong, there are a few parts that brought out a chuckle, like the naked motor cycle ride, and... Overall, I really enjoyed this film, and I'd watch it again, but it doesn't belong in my collection because it isn't something that I would be compelled to just pop in the DVD player on a moments notice. Just watch it on TV, 'cause you know it will be on sometime, and when it does come on...watch it. It's worth your time.
Rating: Summary: Another really fun foreign film Review: Waking Ned Devine has made me a foreign film addict. The delightful shenanigans of the two central characters as they attempt to involve an entire Irish hamlet in a scheme to cash in on the winning lottery ticket of a deceased friend was almost as classic as a keystone cops routine. The plight of a small dying community in a world of big cities is hardly unfamiliar to me having spent some of my earlier years in a similar community in southern Minnesota. The formulaic activities of the elderly, left behind by the flight of the younger generation to the cities, is definitely illustrated, as are the narrow choices available to those young people who have chosen to remain in their native town. My favorite scenes are the motorcycle ride by the two elderly comrades through the backroads to beat the lottery agent to the winner's home, and the race of the village grump to the phone box to report the fraud. The scenery was totally gorgeous and almost makes me want to board an Aer Lingus for Ireland.
Rating: Summary: I didn't think I'd like it but I did!!! Review: I'm a 15 year old american, and I was recently on a tour of the Uk and Ireland (Ireland is the most beautiful country in the world) and our tour guide Phil used to let us watch movies on the charter bus tvs. A few days before we were gonna leave for Ireland, Phil asked us what we wanted to watch on the bus into Dublin. He reconmended this and no body really wanted to because not alot of us had heard of it. But he bought it anyway and 20 minutes into the movie, no body minded! What a great movie!!! The funny tension that builds up when that lady goes to make the phone call...evey one on the bus held their breath and then BOOM! we were cheering like it was the superbowl or something! I definently recomend this movie, it's one of the best i've ever seen
Rating: Summary: Beyond Excellent! Review: This is a touching movie, full of beautiful Irish accents, jokes and music! This movie will touch your heart and give you a wonderful feeling all over. The actors do a beyond excellent job in this charming tale of Ned Divine who won the lotto, then died from the shock of it. His 2 friends decide to split the winnings amoung the small village, but they have to make sure the Lotto doesn't know Ned Divine is really dead. If you don't like this film, you've got no one to blame but yourself!
Rating: Summary: Hysterical! Review: This is the funniest movie I have ever seen, save the Princess Bride. (Nothing can compare to that, so it is unfair to try.) Most modern movies lack true, witty dialogue. Not so with this one. It will have you laughing the whole time. It also has great music (the soundtrack is just as good as the movie), beautiful scenery, and great ending. It is not just another "its Irish so it must be charming" flick. It could have been filmed anywhere, though the Irish element made it all the more enjoyable. Complete fun; see it!
Rating: Summary: I hated this movie Review: So anyways, why did I hate this movie. Well, it is about a cloyingly "quaint" Irish hicks led by a couple of "lovable" old fogies. These old fogies go swimming in the nude, which is an excuse to have the "lovable old fogie riding a motorcycle nude" scene. Then all the townspeople conspire to defraud the lottery. In it all there is a pig farmer who loves a woman with all his heart, but she can't reciprocate because he smells like pigs. If ONLY he had enough money to do something else, then she might consider it. Maybe she might even tell him if her illegitimate son is his or not. Sounds like a prize doesn't she. The "surprise" ending, almost made me sick. A key requirement for me to enjoy a movie is that I have to care about what happens to the characters. Here, I would have been perfectly happy if their entire village and every single one of them was incincerated in a horrible petrochemical plant explosion or something. SPOILER WARNING. The movie does not end this way, but who cares. You know how the movie is going to end anyways. Well, except for the part that made me sick, and thereby loath this movie all the more. It just tries too hard, but with people you just don't care about.
Rating: Summary: if you love this movie Review: If you love "Waking Ned Devine," you'll also REALLY love "Hear My Song," an old movie (1991?) with Ned Beatty. The characters in it are fabulous, including all of the minor characters.
|