Don't be fooled by the raw, Dogme-esque stylings: The Honeymooners is a screwball romantic comedy that's as conventional as they come. Take a jilted groom (Jonathan Byrne) and a newly fired waitress (Alex Reid), stick 'em together on an incident-packed road trip to Donegal, and let an age-old formula do the driving. That's not to say Irish helmer Karl Golden's digitally shot debut is without its charm. But, as with our chalk-and-cheese couple, things take a while to click.
There are dark clouds hanging over both characters when we meet them. Ditched at the last minute by would-be bride Fiona (Justine Mitchell), David (Byrne) flees friends and family for the airport, where a boozy binge causes him to miss his flight. Meanwhile, after a birthday row with married boyfriend Peter (Conor Mullen), Claire (Reid) gets canned for customer abuse. Soon enough, she's chauffeuring David out of Dublin.
"CHUCKLE MUSCLES GET GENTLE EXERCISE"
Between his stuffy stand-offishness and her petulant posturing, it's hard at first to warm to this downcast duo. Out on the road, though, the country air allows the comedy to breathe. We get townie-hating loony locals; lunch with a kinky crossdresser; and a pub brawl that's resolved by a rampaging flock of sheep. None of these antics exactly pushes the envelope, but they do give the chuckle muscles some gentle exercise. Writer-director Golden's stripped-down sensibility helps. Inspired by indie-cinema godfather John Cassavetes and characterised by handheld camerawork, it puts pep into the proceedings even as the story barrels towards its foregone conclusion.
As for chemistry... well, you can believe that David and Claire would gradually fall in like with each other, but genuine romance between this poles-apart pair seems a somewhat tall order, however heavily your disbelief is suspended. All told, though, The Honeymooners is well-performed, pacey, and funny enough for viewers not to regret walking down the multiplex aisle.
The Honeymooners (2004)
