Charming and effortlessly likeable, this first feature-length excursion from the Paths Of Freedom gang is unlikely to unduly trouble the Oscars committee next spring, but does provide some amiably light-hearted amusement, without threatening to outstay its welcome.
For those who missed out first time round, Paths Of Freedom was a reasonably successful RTE series (from the team who also brought you Fergus’ Wedding), providing amongst other things, a chronicle of the life and times of ‘Rats from the Flats’, a chronically unfortunate jailbird loser with a horrendous bowl haircut and a deeply shifty demeanour. Throughout Spin The Bottle, Rats is brought to life by a very vibrant performance from Michael McElhatton (who also co-wrote the script) while the reliable Peter McDonald plays his sidekick Tommo.
The daft plot sees Rats released yet again from yet another stint in Mountjoy, whereupon he proceeds to look up his old friends after a three-year absence. Unfortunately, Tommo is now gainfully employed in an animal sanctuary, while their pal Brainer has become a keyboard player in a heavy-metal band. Rats, despite the length of his criminal record, is a good-hearted sort, whose mission in life is to save the money to send his Auntie to Lourdes for a miracle cure for her terminal obesity – so in order to raise the readies, Rats and mates decide to re-unite their old band Spermdotcom.
As you may suspect, there isn’t quite enough material here to sustain an entire feature film, and long before the end, there’s little left to look out for beyond a succession of bewildering cameos (Gerry Ryan, Miriam O’Callaghan, Louis Walsh, Samantha Mumba). Still, the obvious enthusiasm of the actors keeps events consistently engaging, while some of Rats’ hilariously atrocious scuzz-Dublinese rapping simply begs to be released as a soundtrack.
The world will surely live without a sequel, but for those of you previously unacquainted with Rats’ almost Shakespearean dynamism, Spin The Bottle is worth a look.