...to be portrayed in these quaint comedies as eccentric small town dreamers. It worked in Hear My Song (still the Irish comedy that rules in my book), The Commitments (OK, that was not set in a small town, but you get the point). Waking Ned Devine was pleasant but familiar and slight. And now The Closer You Get, which rehashes all of the "silly Irish people" elements and combines it with an idea straight out of The Full Monty (a British film about middle aged men deciding to do a strip tease to boost their morale). The message of The Full Monty was be youself and be happy with what you have. A point that The Closer You Get hammers into its viewers. I cannot actively dislike any Irish film, because even if you have a trite story and underdeveloped characters, you can always look at the scenery! I guess if we want hard-edged Irish films, we have to continue to seek out Neil Jordan's movies. I was disappointed.
Review of American Women
