Das Leben ist ein Kinderspiel

In Dublin, embarrassed teen Emma is told to accompany her grandmother Nan (Fionnula Flanagan) who lives with her idiot son Colm. It's actually an excuse for her adult kids to come and renovate her home without her knowledge. They throw out much of her belongings including her mattress. Unbeknownst to them, she had hidden her life savings in the mattress which amounts to about a million euros.

This is a black comedy Irish indie. I guess black comedy and Irish indie amount to the same thing. It's an endearing dysfunctional family headed by the magnetic Fionnula Flanagan. She does everything with little more than a look. She controls this movie from the sidelines. Additional praise for Pat Shortt who allows himself to be the butt of the joke. There is some heart, some humor, and some pathos. The running time is a little short and I wonder if the third act could handle another five minutes. This is fun little indie.

Of course, it's an Irish film, so it's ha-ha-ha laugh your head off funny - you should absolutely see it because it's the greatest film of the year and there's nothing quite like it! (Sarcasm intended)

It's a deep-rooted Irish comedy, and plays on the fact that we love to laugh at ourselves - which for some, works, and for others, doesn't. It's far from being a masterpiece, but it's a feel-good comedy that'll give you a few chuckles on occasion because you will, without a doubt, be able to relate some of the story to your own life.

The film is filled with beautiful shots of the not-so-beautiful Dublin city, and is a very enjoyable visual experience with some lovely cinematography. So, visually, it's a very solid viewing experience. However, it may not be the most well assembled story ever made - it survives mostly on the characters and their relationships with each other, but with a few twists along the way, it does leave you wondering whether or not the money actually exists, or "nan's gone crazy".

"Life's a Breeze" has a well assembled cast, including the Emmy-winning Fionnula Flanagan as the grandmother. Pat Shortt as 'Colm', and the terrific Kelly Thornton as the young girl 'Emma'. Thornton and Flanagan form an adorably lovable pair on screen, while Shortt brings come stereotypical Irish comedy into the mix. Along their journey to find the money the trio encounter many quirky situations that cause multiple clashes among the rest of the family but when it all comes to a close you'll be left with a sense of restored faith in your own family, and a bit of home for the people you surround yourself with.

"Life's a Breeze" is a lovable comedy that's absolutely worth a watch if you're a fan of Irish production, but maybe not your cup of tea if you're over-judgmental of what you choose to spend your time watching.

www.StuartComerford.com Twitter: @StuartComerford

Life's a Breeze is a small, family oriented drama from Ireland starring Fionnula Flanagan as a retired school teacher whose adult children decide to clean up their mom's house as a birthday present. The problem is, that with the stuff they throw out, is an old mattress with the old lady's life savings in it. Thus begins a wild goose chase to recover the missing money. Flanagan is great here, as she was previously in The Guard(a must see Irish comedy), and Kill the Irishman, an excellent true crime story. Her granddaughter, Emma(newcomer Kelly Thornton), is a breath of fresh air in her numerous scenes with Flanagan. The eighty minutes go by quickly and had me laughing and rooting for a happy outcome. The cast is all good and the script witty enough to make Life's a Breeze worth watching.

Enjoyed this movie immensely. I agree that some scenes were somewhat irrelevant. Pity there is not much bio on Emma on IMDb. Her last part about crediting Colm with finding the mattress is a beautiful act of kindness and clever psychology. I've been to Dublin twice, once in 1958 and again in 2006. The contrast and change between these two years in terms of scruffiness and graffiti is so disappointing. Nevertheless, there are many points in the city's favour and I would like to visit again. Like many Irish films, the dialogue (Irish accent) can be difficult to follow for our American cousins and those who do not have English mother tongue. Finally, I am curious as to what part of the movie was filmed in Sweden and why?

When her family throws out her old stuff away and proudly presents her a new bed Nan tells them that the old mattress they had thrown away had nearly 1 million euros in it. This makes them go on a quest to find the mattress.

The movie is pretty hilarious and reminds me of the old classic It's a mad mad mad world. Only in this case the family looks for the mattress together, even though they are extremely dysfunctional and greedy (but then who wouldn't be knowing that there is a million somewhere you can soon use).

The characters are very colorful and present us with many hilarious scenes. Like the lottery scene for example. Besides that there is this great connection between Nan and her granddaughter Emma.

A recommendable movie. It is pretty hilarious to watch it wondering if they will find the mattress, where they will find it and if there is really all that money in it.