Film Review: Mattress Men

A giant anthropomorphic mattress wandering around an abandoned housing estate, looking both comic and forlorn. “The sunset is so beautiful,” he muses. A frizzy-haired sexagenarian emerging from a makeshift DeLorean in pink boots, declaring “I’m back.” CGI dinosaurs trying to revive the Celtic Tiger.

Welcome to the high-stakes world of mattress sales.

When Dubliner Michael Flynn found his mattress business floundering during the recession, he teamed up with Paul Kelly to make a series of deliberately absurd promotional videos. The old-school special effects, movie homages and charmingly absurd raps became viral sensations, transforming “Mattress Mick” into an international star.

But clicks don’t necessarily translate into sales, and successful creative partnerships aren’t without their conflicts.

Director Colm Quinn takes this unlikely documentary subject and transforms it into a moving tale about two men struggling to find financial stability and self-fulfillment in the midst of a failing economy.

Paul is a loving father whose years on social welfare have left him with a diminished sense of self-worth. Throwing himself into the creative process behind Mattress Mick, it becomes increasingly clear that his desire for a full-time job and recognition is vital to his sense of manhood. Meanwhile, Mick is just trying to keep his business relevant, and has his own reasons for not trusting Paul completely.

The emotional drama is brilliantly juxtaposed with the whimsical nature of the ads and music videos, and Quinn readily taps into the fun and charm of these characters, as well as their deeper motivations. While the flavour is distinctly Dublin, the tale of men fighting their way through financial adversity is universal, delightful and unexpectedly moving.