The Luck of the Irish

I've never been a big fan of Disney Channel Original Movies but after seeing 'Motocrossed' and liking it, I decided to give 'Luck of the Irish' a chance. I wasn't disappointed. While I didn't like it quite as much as 'Motocrossed', it was still a good movie. It has a great lesson for kids: You should be proud of your heritage. Ryan Merriman also did a great job in this film. I have always been a fan of his work and this movie was no different. The other actors were good as well, though some of them had less than perfect Irish accents. The actor who played his best friend (Glenndon Chatman), however, was painful to watch. His acting was stilted and unbelievable. Now, as far as the plot was concerned, I thought it was pretty creative. It held my attention, anyway. I thought some scenes were a little silly and some of the Irish stereotypes were a little over the top, but I'd have to say that all-in-all, the movie did what I expected it to do. I especially like the ending; it was quite touching. But I won't spoil it for you. I recommend this movie for families to teach their children about being proud of their heritage and wanting to learn about their ancestors. I give this movie 7 out of 10.

Not everyone can "understand" this movie - and I think misunderstanding it is the only reason anyone could give it a negative review. Movies like this one - by nature of being made-for-television and made-for-12-year-olds - are outside traditional standards for judging movies. In fact, a lot of the factors that would make regular movies bad, in this case, actually make this movie better: not-so-convincing accents, silly plot, random coincidences, and evil leprechauns. Luck of the Irish isn't about challenging intellectual beliefs or pulling heartstrings - it's the movie to watch with friends (that you're comfortable with) after knocking back a few drinks. And in that context, the weirder it is, the cornier it is, the better.

The plot was really bad. This kid finds out he is a leprechaun and he loses his lucky coin so he has to find it to save his family. The main boy(Ryan Merriman) was good. I think he is a pretty talented actor. His best friend was a pretty good actor too.

I remember watching this film with my family when it first premiered on the Disney Channel. I must have been in 6th or 7th grade and I remember having a blast with it. It had a nice blend of comedy and fantasy and became my new favorite Disney Channel movie. I revisited it today and was pretty let down after 7 years or so passing by. This isn't the same movie! Don't get me wrong, I still like it had a fun time watching it but it's strange how we love movies as kids and then revisit them as adults and find that they weren't so great after all.

I liked Ryan Merriman in this because he was just some kid that no one knew about. Much better than the garbage he was in, Final Destination 3 and The Ring Two. The other actors weren't very good but they didn't ruin the movie for me. The story is silly Disney fun about a kid who loses his family's lucky coin and experiences a ton of bad luck while trying to steal the coin back. Sounds like a blast, doesn't it?

I would only recommend this if you're a fan of other Disney channel movies. It gets a 6 from me because it's fun to watch but I'd give it a 4 compared to other movies. You decide For yourself!

Now if anybody is thinking that Disney studios got the rights to remake the famous Twentieth Century Fox classic that starred Tyrone Power, put those thoughts aside. This film is about yet another Disney Channel teenager whose inquiry into his roots for his high school heritage day leads to all kinds of problems.

Poor Ryan Merriman has the decidedly unethnic last name of Johnson and as far as he knows his family hails from Cleveland. He doesn't know that his maternal grandfather is the head of Emerald Isle potato chips and further that he's a leprechaun. Which makes mom one too and Ryan a mixed breed that can be volatile.

When his lucky coin's been stolen from him that he's had since he was a kid by bad leprechaun Timothy Omundson, it's time to get in touch with grandfather and get the coin back.

One similarity with the 1948 classic is that a leading actor played a rather stooped version of a leprechaun in both films. Cecil Kellaway got an Academy Award nomination in the older film. Here Henry Gibson plays the leprechaun potato chip tycoon where in his factory it's required to speak with a brogue.

It's a Disney Channel film so don't expect too much from it. The cast is pleasant enough and easy to take. You can be sure to see Luck Of The Irish on the Disney Channel come Paddy's Day.