 "Great, Great Film" | 2009-09-10 |
| - Reviewed By User: A164RTALM7DCPB |
| Waking Ned Devine is a laugh out loud funny movie. It puts me in a great mood everytime I see it. Highly recommended. |
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| "Quite simply, Waking Ned is a superb film." | 2009-07-01 |
| - Reviewed By ghaleon2001 |
I first saw this movie back in 2000, when I was a lad of twenty. Having become fixated on Irish music and culture, a passion I still have to this day, I was encouraged to watch this movie by a lady friend. It ended up on my Christmas list. At the time, however, I didn't have a DVD player, so the movie was still on VHS.
The story of Waking Ned is at once simple and at the same time complicated. It takes place in a small village off the coast of Ireland, one of those places where everybody knows just about everybody else. Reminds me of my parents' home town in Wisconsin, though considerably smaller. This Irish village, however, seems composed largely of elderly folk with a few youngsters thrown into the mix. They live simple, easy lives, playing the lottery without necessarily expecting to win.
Things get complicated when it's discovered that the winner of the most recent lottery is a member of this small community. Lifelong friends Jackie O'Shea (played by the late Ian Bannen), and Michael O'Sullivan (David Kelly), decide to find out who the winner is and make sure they're that person's best friends when they go to claim the money. Things become much less clear-cut, however, when Jackie discovers that the winner, Ned Devine, died of a heart attack brought on by the shock of discovering he'd become a millionaire. Not to be dissuaded, Jackie persuades Michael to help him in a scheme to impersonate Ned and claim the winnings. Rather than keeping it all for themselves however, Jackie decides to divide the money among all the residents of the village in response to what he believes is a vision from Ned. Ned, a kind and generous man in life, would probably have done exactly this had he lived to claim the money, so Jackie decides to go ahead with the scheme. The tricky part of course is convincing the entire village to go along with the whole thing. Matters are almost put to rest before they really get started when the man from the lottery shows up much sooner than expected, forcing Jackie, who had originally intended to impersonate Ned, to lay the burden on a reluctant Michael's shoulders. Michael, with no other options, rides his motorcycle, buck naked, from the beach where the two were rehearsing for the interview, all the way back to Ned's place while Jackie delays the man from Dublin.
All in all Waking Ned is definitely my idea of what a commedy should be, not too heavily reliant on crude jokes and profanity. In other words, true humor. Add to it the potential stumbling block of Lizzie Quinn, the village's resident grinch, and the subplot of the romance between Pig Finn, the local pig farmer, and Maggie, the farmer's daughter, and what you have is a delightfully lighthearted Irish tale of tragedy and triumph mixed liberally with humor. The musical score is particularly fitting near the very end of the film, which details the opposite fates of the villagers and Lizzie Quinn simultaneously. The film ends with a triumphantly beautiful rendition of The Parting Glass, one of my absolute favorite Irish tunes.
So all in all, I found this to be an excellent film and can't wait to own it on DVD. |
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| "Celebrate life!" | 2009-04-18 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1EN0WSI0OGS91 |
The Waking of Ned Devine is a celebration of life as seen through the eyes of friends in a small Irish town off the coast of Ireland. The twists and turns of the plot will have you convulsing at times as the
small town comes to terms with their good fortune and loss simultaneously.
As the story races to it's conclusion, the frantic music of the fiddler
parallels the "fortunes" of the town grinch. An extraordinary slice of
Irish life and humor magically captivating us willing participants. You'll
cheer at the end of this masterpiece!!! |
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| "In my all time top 10" | 2009-04-11 |
| - Reviewed By User: AT5R7LH4DET81 |
Keeping this short, WND is one of the funniest, most charming and clever movies I have ever seen. You can watch this 5xs and still laugh just as hard as first time. Perfect family movie. If you haven't seen this, you've missed out. This movie crosses generations and cultures, and how many can say that these days?
10*s Forget the five |
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 "Oh, that someone will speak this highly of me at my funeral..." | 2009-04-09 |
| - Reviewed By User: A43R0244RFDZ9 |
To say this movie is funny is just not saying enough. It speaks of Irish traditions, human nature, the good, the bad and the funny, and gives you the nervous jitters as to what is going to happen next.
But, the ending scene with song will bring tears to your eyes or at least a lump in your throat. The tune is "Parting Glass" and the words are humbling.
We loved this movie! |
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| "movies came quick" | 2009-04-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: AB0XVKCU8P8UF |
| I had my movies, which were new and still in the packaging, in a quick, timely manner. |
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Expedited Available
