Waking Ned Devine(19987)

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Waking Ned Devine(1998)

Extortion, bribery, fraud and heavy boozing...How is this not an American movie again?

Waking Ned Devine is the closest thing to Mark Twain to be found these days. Set in rural Ireland and written by Kirk Jones (who created the Absolut Vodka advertisements, incidentally), it features elderly lifelong friends Jackie (Ian Bannen) and Michael (David Kelly) who stumble onto the fact that someone in their home (the village of Tully Moore) has won the Lotto. After their frenzied attempts to find out who (which entails spending a lot of money to try to both exhibit their generosity and ferret out the lurking winner), they finally learn that the winner is the elderly Ned Devine (Jimmy Keogh), who has died from shock upon learning of his winning. Jackie argues that Ned wouldn't want the money to go unclaimed, and immediately concocts a scheme to impersonate Ned and claim the money.

Before Jackie can go through with it, though, the Lotto representative (Brendan Dempsey) shows up while the two are swimming (apparently, Ireland's version of "warning--contains nudity" applies to bony, liverspotted men more than it does young women), forcing Michael to adopt the role. Michael learns that the representative is going to make "local inquiries" into the village since the sum in question is so large (nearly seven million pounds), and Michael and Jackie find they've got to let the village in on the scam in order for it to work and to avoid going to prison.

Waking Ned Devine builds to an incredible climax and a very satisfactory conclusion, accompanied with scenic shots of the coastal countryside and a nostalgic Irish orchestration that turns the movie into one of those rare feel-good films whose impact remains hours after the show is over. All performances are memorable and lovable. In addition to Jackie and Michael (who out-Honeymooner Ralph and Ed from The Honeymooners in a quiet fashion), we are also introduced to the newbie priest Father Patrick (Dermot Kerrigan) seeking to make an impression on the village, as well as lovers Maggie (Susan Lynch) and Finn (James Nesbitt) who would be married and settled down by now if Finn didn't reek of the hogs he makes his living off of. If this isn't down to earth humor, I don't know what is--nobody looks down on Finn's occupation, and Maggie's father doesn't think ill of Finn in the cliched "My daughter isn't marrying any pig farmer!" tradition. She just can't stand the smell, and nobody, least of all Finn, can blame her. Watch Jackie continually supply Finn with an array of fruit-scented soaps and just try to keep a straight face.

It would be impossible to give an accurate recount of the charm and humor that all the town's inhabitants possess, and in all honesty, this foreign element might have skewed my reaction to the film somewhat. I'm no expert on Irish cinema, but if Ned Devine is any sort of template, I'll be a cinematic expat faster than you can say "Begorrah!" I can say, with some authority, that much of Ned Devine's success is because of Jackie and Michael's friendship, both in the face of potential incarceration and in their utter indifference towards swimming in the buck together. The two have a great on-screen chemistry, and their shenanigans aren't funny because they're outrageous, but because the two combine hapless apathy with quiet deviousness. Listening to them talk, you wouldn't think they were talking about a quarter of a million pounds (the original sum in question), but about trying to cadge free drinks off the local bartender. This is the film's true charm, and it goes farther than could be believed.

-Long