The Honeymooners

when was the last time u sat thro a hollywood rom com with a few big names and realised u had seen all the best bits when u saw the trailer a week ago. boring isn't it.

this is a romantic comedy, it will be no shock to get a happy ending, the whole point is how u get there....and how much u care.

and i cared, after the initial shock of the wobbly camera and documentary feel u settle in to the story of 2 people having a very bad day and in the end u are rooting for them to get together.

irish film making cant afford mega buck stars and cgi effects. this movie proves u dont need them when u have talent and a beautiful location. well done.

I was curious to see this (partly because I'm a bit of an Alex Reid fan and partly because I want to see what a feature on a low budget would be like to experience) I brought the DVD without carrying huge expectations but when I saw it, I was pleasantly surprised. The two main characters seem real because initially they are fairly unlikable (Initially, David's a miserable git and Claire's a bit of a cow) but I kind of warmed to them as I got to know them more while the story progressed.

For me it was a breath of fresh air from usual glossy Hollywood rom-coms because it was believable and had this great sense of charm when matching it with the Donegal countryside (the part where they swim together in the sea being a fantastic scene). It made my Dad want to go back to visit Northern Ireland but I digress! Give it a chance, you might just agree with me!

Having just watched this movie at its premier as part of the London Film Festival 2003, I have to say I came out being sorely disappointed.

The movie is basically a series of loosely coupled cinematic clichés stitched together in a rom-com template. First timer Karl Golden has mistakenly crammed too many tricks on to the screen, and the jarring jump-cuts, grainy stock and jerky camera movements are not innovative, merely annoying and nauseating. It is truly a sad indictment of the state of the British film industry when funding can be made available for predictable, plodding, saccharine nonsense like this at the expense of other more worthy projects.

I really enjoyed this movie. It kept me interested throughout and I liked the two leads especially Alex, really nice. I'm sure we'll see more of her in the future. I also liked the use of facial expressions and body language in some scenes instead of dialogue, it added to the atmosphere and told me more about the characters. Some good characters in the Donegal scenes which were very funny. I am grateful to the Sunday Times for this freebie as I had heard about the movie and of course it would never feature in a local cinema. By the way there are lots of big budget movies with plenty of $ and hype that don't come near this little gem despite the shaky camera-work.

Aidan

What a treat! Saw this at the London Film Festival and laugh-out-loud loved it. Shot in under three weeks on a budget too low to be called shoestring, first time writer-director Karl Golden had previously only two short films on his imdb CV but has fashioned here a warm and witty romantic comedy that was enthusiastically applauded by the festival audience.

Essentially the story is another variation on the well-used rom-com staple of two people with apparently nothing in common finding themselves together in trying circumstances and gradually falling for each other. Nothing terribly groundbreaking there, but Golden's inventive, clever script provides a funny, entertaining and enjoyable journey even if the destination is no surprise.

To this viewer, The Honeymooners is an object lesson to those who pour millions into making glossy but strictly one-star pap. What really counts is a great script featuring believable and identifiable characters, and a talented cast to bring them to life.