After the misfire that was Blow Dry, director Paddy Breathnach returns to the bawdy, zippy humour that characterised his earlier hit I Went Down with this tale of likable, luckless losers from the Ardoyne out to beat a villainous tough-nut bookie (Hello Sean McGinley!) down at the dogs.
Our hapless trio, including cheeky chappy Mo Chara (the delightful Allen Leech), stoner-boy Paulsy (Murphy) and curmudgeonly Scud (Nolan) set out for Clonmel (Ireland’s biggest hare-coursing event, apparently – shudder) with their newly acquired champion courser, Cerberus. In the manner of Guy Ritchie’s finer moments, the crew quickly incur the ire of a gang of travellers and the bookmaker’s thug-in-residence, prompting all manner of misadventures and a Smokey And The Bandit-alike car-chase. (I’d like to think that the Dukes of Hazard soundtrack was an homage to Smokey’s deep-Southern pedigree, but alas, I fear the din may well be organic given the film’s starting point.)
This riotous broad comedy both trades on and subverts any number of national stereotypes. Yes, there’s a scene featuring our feckless heroes putting the greyhound in the bath in accordance with countless apocryphal tales, but they make good in the end, as do the itinerant clan led by the fantastic Pat Shortt.
Woody Allen this ain’t, but it’s warm, witty and terribly good fun, and besides, given Woody’s recent run, you’d be troubled by the comparison. I’m sure I should reference canine testicles at this point, but I’d hate to deprive the hotpress subs of that giddy little sub-heading thrill. Bless. (Party-pooper – Sub-ed.)