Le lutin

I found this movie to be a major let down. I was thinking it would be something good like the 13th year but It was bad. The plot wasn't very good, and they did not really explore Kyle adjusting to his Heritage. The actors were good, I suppose, although someone who is almost 18 playing a 12 or 13 year old is rather odd. The best part about this movie were the special effects which were rather good considering what would probably be a rather limited budget. I've seen better, but at the same time I've seen worse (I.E. Motocrossed)

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

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.

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.

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.