The Snapper

Because one needn't think TWICE to figure out this is not just a movie. It's 90 minutes of pure Irish humor, and good publicity for Dublin. If you like Colm Meaney, settle down and watch 'The Snapper'. But this is such a good movie you can go on inventing reasons to see it. The Snapper deserves respect and cheers for it's one-liners, the sweet Irish accent and the location. Dublin rulesssssss! Roddy Doyle's books must be hilarious, I don't know but the movies sure are FANTASTIC!!!

Give it 9/10!

This film is 'deadly'. Colm Meaney was made for the role of the lower class 'Barrytown' Da. Its full of witty dialogue and mad characters. The Commitments comes nowhere near this little gem. Its not surprising that some of the American reviewers were not impressed and called it a depressing film as appposed to a comedy, they probably couldn't understand what was being said or the sheer sarcasm of the characters lines. The fact is that Sharon Curly doesn't really deserve much sympathy, so its also comical how things go so bad on her. Everybody around the world should see this film to garner an opinion.

In the working-class Barrytown, Dublin, Ireland, the happy Curley family is composed by the father Dessie (Colm Meaney), his wife Kay, three sons and three daughters. When the twenty-year old Sharon (Tina Kellegher) discloses to her family that she is pregnant, she refuses to tell the name of the father. Soon Dessie tells the news to his friends in the pub and Sharon discloses also to her three friends in another pub. But when Dessie's friend Lester (Brendan Gleeson) overhears the old George Burgess bragging to his friends in a pub that Sharon is a great f-word, the life of Sharon and her family changes in Barrytown and she learns that she has only one real and best friend, Jackie. And Dessie tries to become a better father and husband than never, learning how to deal with women.

"The Snapper" is an unknown little gem directed by Stephen Frears. The dramatic story of a twenty-year old girl that becomes pregnant from an old man has also funny moments in the life of a working class living in Barrytown. Therefore the drama does not become heavy since there are relief moments. For people that is not native in English like me, the "snapper" in the title is Sharon´s baby. In Brazil, this film was only released on VHS and with a terrible marketing since the genre indicated on the cover by the distributor is comedy, with a photo of Sharon and her friends laughing in the pub. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Grande Família" ("The Great Family")

This film is a delightful romp about a large, boisterous Dublin family which gets turned upside down when the eldest daughter unexpectedly becomes pregnant. Strong-willed Sharon Curley (Tina Gellegher) refuses to discuss who got her "up the pole," but is equally adamant about not wanting to get an abortion. She keeps her head held high as friends needle her, neighbors whisper, and younger brothers and sisters ask wide-eyed questions. Colm Meaney gives a standout performance as Sharon's dad, expertly revealing a gamut of emotions, from rage to sorrow to curiosity about the birth process to exhilaration at the prospect of becoming a granddad. Ruth McCabe plays the soft- spoken but strong-as-an-ox Irish mom to perfection. While it gets a tad slow towards the end, this film is a great rental if you want a light-hearted yet heart-warming celebration of family-- in all its gory and splendor.

This is up there the all time great Irish comedy films. From beginning to end this is a riot of a film. It portrays the life of Sharon Curley played by Tina Kellegher. She becomes pregnant after a night on the booze and realises eventually, that the father is the local U-12 soccer coach, who just happens to be older than her father. The gossips soon get the news around and Sharon becomes the joke of the neighbourhood.

This really shows the ups and downs of single motherhood in early nineties Dublin. Colm Meaney is brilliant as Dessie Curley with some memorable quotes and one liners. Also look out for Brendan Gleeson as Lester. Well worth a look.