The Luck of the Irish

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.

Or is it "preserve"?

Don't see this awful, straight-to-Disney-Channel-movie, or you will be shouting in pain when it is over. Now, I will take you behind the minds of the writers:

I can just see some guys in a room, coffee in hand, thinking of something to put in this movie.

BRAINSTORMER 1 What characters should we use?

The Irish-American "duh?" generation teen. The token black kid (no racist comment intended - I took that statement from the front cover of some movie I saw at the rental store!). Your stereotypical Irish Grandfather. (Aye!) Hokey effects and a dumb plot thought of in a five minute brainstorming session.

With that in mind, you've got the outline for the film. Next, let's think what the writers were thinking of in mind of a director:

McG Steven Spielberg Steven Seagal The Wachowski Brothers Someone With No Talent (Well, That Negatives McG and Seagal!) Someone With Talent (That negatives the rest)

So what are we left with? NO ONE, which is who I would think WAS behind this movie. No one. That's how awful it is.

This is low 100 material, I'm telling you. All it needs is 600 votes....

1/5 stars -

John Ulmer

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.

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.

Having a One year old means the Disney Channel is on...All the time! So, my wife and I are always reluctant to watch something we want...So, every now and again, The Disney Channel(TDC), throws out a commerical for one of their Prem-Ear movies. I have seen a few in the past, and felt they were okay kids movies...nothing special to speak about. I saw this preview for this movie, and thought: "Okay, this doesn't look too bad...Ryan Merriman is an excellent actor, and shined in Smart House." So, I gave it a go...

We watched it the night it premiered. I must say it was a good made for tv movie. IT didn't have the best script, sometimes corny dialouge, low budget special effect, but the actors....the actors held the movie together.

Ryan Merriman is probably one of the better actors among those of his age. He not a: "oops, I looked at the camera again, oh, what is my line, this is hard, i love acting though" actor. He is solid and delivers his lines like a professional! After being in the big screen flop that was The Deep End of the Ocean, Ryan has stayed on the small screen, or in the Indie Spotlight. I hope to see him excel in bigger roles with bigger actors. He is talented.

The parents in this movie were not typical Disney dumb parents. They had a secret to hide from their child and he was trying to figure it out. Not the other way around..Where the kid is hiding something and the parents give up way too easy to find out what it is...

The supporting characters kept up with the pace, and didnt act like they were acting. I would like to see a sequel to this movie...I don't know of a plot, but still...it could be done...TDC has made worse decisons about movie

Overall, I would give this movie a 9 out of 10. The high rating because of the strong performance by Merriman. 7 out of 10 for the script.

I hope Disney puts this on Video or DVD i would like to own it