Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
The wacky Irish town movies are wearing on my nerves, but as with any genre, if it’s a good one, none of that matters. Check this out:
Hi Guys,
Just caught a showing of the new Irish/UK comedy ‘PUCKOON’, an adaptation of SPIKE MILLIGAN’s satirical novel from 1963.
The ‘Puckoon’ of the title is the type of twee, yet eccentric Irish town that has become something of a movie mainstay of late (Waking Ned Devine, Circle Of Friends, The Matchmaker, anyone?), but this town in question finds itself in the middle of a petty argument about the borders dividing Northern Ireland from Ireland.
A borderline is plucked from nowhere and slapped on the map, the only problem being that Puckoon lies straight across this border.
The comic possibilities (as in the book) are endless, i.e. the local pub finds itself segregated, with booze prices differing greatly on either side of the establishment (a genuinely funny moment).
Unfortunately once the very amusing ‘border-complication’ gags have dried up, the film-makers find themselves with nothing but a gurning cast of oddballs, existing within the subtle writing befitting a post-Guttenberg Police Academy.
And oddballs they are, unfortunately the cast are a strange mixed bag that doesn’t seem to gel or make sense, Irish stand-up comic Sean Hughes (who’s from the Bill Hicks school of comedy – only gentle with it) is endearing – there’s always something entertaining about a stand-up comic giving it their all for the first time, but he’s backed up by Elliot Gould and Griff Rhys-Jones to name but two, a bizarre combination that just doesn’t work.
Puckoon is an uneven interpretation of Milligan's Book – the main problem being that the stinging, yet bonkers one-liners and vitriolic nature of Milligan’s humour doesn’t particularly gel with sporadic attempts to once again beat the audience to death with the ol’ Oirish charm. Okay! The Irish are mystical folk! We get it already!
But then again when the film DOES try to remind us that this movie derives from the crazy, subversive noggin of Milligan, the director (Terence Ryan – Director of nothing of much note) breaks the fourth wall with Bueller/Kuffs addresses to camera/audience, deliberate OTT sound effects AND the ‘director’ (voiced by, yes, Dickie Attenborough?!) exclaiming painful dialogue from out of shot! This is neither funny nor ground-breaking, just plain odd. Milligan always managed to do all three successfully.
Overall a major disappointment, but kudos to Hughes for trying, I look forward to his next performance.
What’s a dickfer?
Austin Milbarge.
(Spy Like You)
Thanks, man.
"Moriarty" out.
