A FILM WITH ME IN IT
(director: Ian Fitzgibbon; screenwriter: Mark Doherty; cinematographer: Seamus Deasy; editor: Tony Cranstoun; music: Denis Wood; cast: Dylan Moran (Pierce), Mark Doherty (Mark), Keith Allen (Jack), Amy Huberman (Sally), David O’Doherty (David), Aisling OSullivan (Policewoman), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Pierce 2), Neil Jordan (Director); Runtime: 89; MPAA Rating: PG-13; producer: Susan Mullen/Alan Moloney; Strand Releasing; 2008-Ireland)
“Things after the halfway point move from the ridiculous to the stupid.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Irish TV director Ian Fitzgibbon (“Spin the Bottle”) helms this lame black comedy, that’s inanely written by co-star Mark Doherty. Though the characters are likable and Irish charm runs through it like a Notre Dame half-back, it looks more like a TV episode than a movie and its absurd premise never gels as a cohesive film.
Struggling hangdog pouting unemployed actor Mark (Mark Doherty), a Dublin resident, is rejected at an audition for a bit part by an insensitive director (Neil Jordan) and his nagging long-suffering tart girlfriend Sally (Amy Huberman) is thinking of ending their relationship and his stern landlord Jack (Keith Allen) plans on evicting him for not paying the rent. To the rescue comes his dead-beat gambler alcoholic aspiring director pal Pierce (Dylan Moran), who offers to co-write a screenplay with him. When Mark’s cute dog, crippled brother (David O’Doherty), landlord and girlfriend die in unconnected freakish accidents in Mark’s flat on the same day, the innocent Pierce and Mark dispose of the bodies in fear they will be blamed and sent to prison. But they still work together on their script.
Things never catch fire in the film within a film part, as things after the halfway point move from the ridiculous to the stupid and the pic never recovers as its gallows-humor yuks bring on a slow death.
REVIEWED ON 2/16/2013 GRADE: C https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/
Dennis Schwartz: “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”
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