Reviewer's Rating 2 out of 5
The Closer You Get (2000)
12

For every success, there are always plenty of cheap imitations trying to cash in. Witness the influx of girl bands after the Spice Girls or the unfortunate rash of British gangster movies desperately trying to cling onto the coat tails of "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels."

And so it is with "The Full Monty". Take a bunch of down-on-their-luck blokes, set it anywhere other than London or the Home Counties and set them a task that will put them through the mill before finally finding peace with themselves. Hey presto! Guaranteed hit.

Only "The Full Monty" was funny. And "The Closer You Get" isn't. Set in rural Ireland, it follows a townful of lovelorn men (Hart, McGinley, McDonagh amongst others) who decide the way to find the perfect wives is to put an ad in a Florida paper and wait for the Gaelic-loving beauties to descend and profess their undying devotion.

The plan galvanises the gents, but it also leads them to realise that they have some pretty fine women (Cusack et. al.) right in front of them. So they go for them instead.

Predictable - and as has already been stated, resolutely unfunny stuff, which is a shame. But unfortunately, the filmmakers appear to think that simply by parading a slew of Oirish quirkiness, it will somehow make a good movie. And while the basic idea is fine, it's the completely uninspired filling that really gets in the way.

End Credits

Director: Aileen Ritchie

Writer: Herbie Wave, William Ivory

Stars: Ian Hart, Niamh Cusack, Sean McGinley, Sean McDonagh, Ruth McCabe

Genre: Comedy

Length: 92 minutes

Cinema: 8 September 2000

Country: UK

Cinema Search

Where can I see this film?

New Releases