Waking Ned Devine

Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly funny and twisted plot...
Review: In a remote Irish village, two natives discover their neighbor Ned Devine is a lottery winner. Upon hearing the news, Devine passes away. In order to keep his prize, the two men set out to impersonate Devine. The plot gets more convoluted and hilarious as the whole town gets involved. This is one you'll want to watch over and over!

Rating:
Summary: wonderful
Review: I saw in one of the previous reviews that this was not a laugh out loud comedy. I disagree. If you love to laugh watch this movie. Its sweet, cunning, silly, and it will make you laugh out loud. I found myself unable to stop laughing when nasty Lizzy Quinn is pushed off the cliff in the phone booth...just watch this movie...I promise you will have the giggles all day.

Rating:
Summary: Not Terrible.....Not Anything
Review: Let me start out by saying that the plot for this movie was good and full of originality. That's about all I can say positive about this film which is, in my opinion, highly overrated. The idea of "stealing" lottery winnings could of worked if there was some kind of chaos theory involved where things went wrong, but we have none of the sort. Everything goes as planned with no problems and then the movie ends. There seemed to be many questions unanswered at the end (jealous lover, the witch situation) which didn't work in the "make you think about it" way that it seemed it was supposed to be. Good performances all around by the cast but in the end I just asked "what just happened?"

P.S. I think the British Don't like my opinion on this one. hehe.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I won't give a plot summary but I will say that I loved this movie. In fact the ending had my friends and I laughing hysterically! It was a lot of fun to watch. Oh if only I can live in Ireland again!

Rating:
Summary: Irish Comedy Wakes us All
Review: The Brits are fantastic at making comedies populated with interesting, likable characters that you wouldn't mind sitting next to in a pew at the local church or tipping a cold one with at the local pub, depending on your preference. "Waking Ned" comes from a film tradition that delighted us with "The Full Monty" and more recently with "Calendar Girls".

This delightful story takes place in a small Irish village (population 52) and is enacted by a cast of actors that I previously wouldn't have been able to pick out of a police line-up. But these are characters that you quickly come to identify with and care for, and despite the fact that they plan to pull off a small defrauding of the Irish Lottery, you not only want them to pull it off - you don't feel like they're engaging in particularly criminal behavior. Particular Kudos go to Ian Bannen as the twinkly-eyed Jackie O'Shea who is scamming pretty much the entire movie, but doing it in such a way you almost wish you were there with him. David Kelly is wonderful as the scrupulous Michael who "never told a lie in his life" but becomes central in the plot to impersonate dead lottery winner Ned Devine. Fionnula Flanagan is also fantastic as Jackie's wife, Annie, who is the voice of ethics and morals to the scheming Jackie. I'd say it's practically worth the price of admission just to see the opening scene between Jackie and Annie, and I enjoyed every minute after spent in the company of these wonderful characters.

Rating:
Summary: Good, clean, wholesome fun!
Review: It's not often that I find a comedy that is both clean and entertaining, _Waking Ned Devine_ was one of those rare finds.

The story is about a major lottery winning in a small Irish town. Two of the townsfolk; Jackie O'Shea and Michael O'Sullivan, after finding out that someone in their small town of 54 (If I remember correctly) has won the lottery, set about trying to find the winner and hopefully to cash in on the luck.

Unfortunately, the winner; Ned Devine, died from the shock of winning and so Jackie and Michael decide to claim the prize and share it among the whole village. Two obstacles stand in their way; the village 'witch' and the lottery official. There is also a subplot involving a local pig farmer and his sweetheart, who would marry him were it not for the stench and is about to get married to someone a lot less malodorous and richer.

Fortunately, this movie isn't as corny as one would expect, it really is funny without trying too hard to be. I rarely buy DVDs usually deciding to rent them first, but this one is definitely going into the collection because it's one of those feel-good movies that make you appreciate life even more. Definitely a must see for everyone.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite movies - Funny & Heartwarming
Review: This is one of my all time favorite, "feel-good" movies. I watch it when I need a lift. It is about friendship and community and it has a great, happy ending. The down-to-earth actors are perfect, the scenery is lovely, and the story is cute. The concept of eulogizing someone BEFORE they die is thought-provoking and (as enacated in the movie) quite touching. I have seen this movie at least 6 times, and never tire of it. The accents may be a bit of a challenge initially, and you may have to watch it a few times to get all the sassy dialogue, but you will want to once you see it. ENJOY this family oriented movie!!