Whisky Galore!

Remake of the classic Ealing comedy - a Scottish island runs out of whisky until a ship carrying thousands of bottles heading for America runs aground.

Whilst this lacks some of the mischief and whimsy of the original and is a bit slow to find its feet, this is nevertheless a rather charming take with a real sense of affection and community between the locals. Fisher is terrific, as is the always reliable James Cosmo as the fire and brimstone priest. Sweet with one great joke about a broken toilet door.

'WHISKY GALORE': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A British World War II comedy, that's based on the 1949 film of the same name. The movie tells the story of a group of Scottish islanders, on the Isle of Todday, that attempt to steal 50,000 cases of whiskey from a ship stranded offshore. It's set during the 1940s, when whiskey rationing was in effect. The film stars Gregor Fisher, Eddie Izzard, Sean Biggerstaff and Naomi Battrick. It was directed by Gillies MacKinnon and it was written by Peter McDougall (a veteran TV writer). The film has received mostly positive reviews from the critics that have reviewed it. I enjoyed it as well.

The story is set in 1941, and it's loosely based on true events. The Scottish islanders living on the Isle of Todday were suffering from severe whisky shortage (due to the rationing that was in effect during World War II). When they hear about a ship stranded on the rocks just offshore, called the SS Cabinet, that was carrying 50,000 cases of Scotch whiskey to America, they decide the opportunity to steal the whiskey is just too good to pass up. They're only problem is a Home Guard officer, named Captain Wagget (Izzard), who is determined to maintain law and order on the island.

The movie is funny and extremely upbeat; even given the subject matter of theft on a grand scale (and in reality a large amount of money was stolen from the ship as well). It reminds me of a lot of other Scottish and Irish islander comedies I've seen (like 'WAKING NED DEVINE'). If you enjoy that type of film, you'll probably get a good kick out of this. I think it's a well made and enjoyable movie, but it's also nothing too memorable though.

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If you haven't seen the 1949 original - do! it's wonderful and available in blu-ray. I'm afraid that this has none of the original charm. I have a love of western Scottish culture, and Patrick Doyle's music is Irish-flavoured, certainly not Scottish. There's plenty of Scottish music available - why didn't they use it? I didn't find the fake-Hebridean accents too annoying, as I thought they tried hard. Some rotten tomatoes. * How was the hold of the 'Cabinet Minister' fully illuminated, when the ship had been wrecked for a couple of days? *The church was clearly not an island church - it was in Fife. *The music at the wedding was a small orchestra, rather than the fiddle that would have been playing. I found the accompanying music to the whole irritating and out of context. I loved Doyle's music for Henry V, but this is not in the same league. *Why were all the cars and tractors straight out of concours motor shows? not a spot of mud on them! *Since the DVD cover tells me that much of this was shot on the East coast of Scotland, it explains why the land was all wrong for a Hebridean island.

Go back to the original!!

A pleasant enough way to pass a spare hour and a half, sadly it lacks the truly Scottishness of the original with its subtle humour and the gentleness of the island tongue.

A lacklustre remake of the classic 1940s Ealing comedy which fails to achieve the whimsical charm for which it is clearly aiming despite the best efforts of Gregor Fisher and Eddie Izzard.