DOYLE'S LATEST PAYS UNEVEN HOMAGE TO MOVIES.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic Irish novelist and screenwriter Roddy Doyle is best-known for his ``Barrytown Trilogy'' - ``The Commitments,'' ``The Snapper'' and ``The Van'' - works that captured Dublin's working-class heroes in all their bawdy bawd·y adj. bawd·i·er, bawd·i·est 1. Humorously coarse; risqué. 2. Vulgar; lewd. bawd  i·ly adv. gumption and glory. Doyle adapted all three books for the screen; his new film, ``When Brendan Met Trudy,'' is the first time he has attempted an original screenplay. The movie is an offbeat off·beat n. Music An unaccented beat in a measure. adj. Slang Not conforming to an ordinary type or pattern; unconventional: offbeat humor. charmer charm·er n. 1. One that charms, especially a disarmingly attractive person. 2. One who casts spells; an enchanter or magician. Noun 1. , intermittently amusing, but not completely successful in its attempted blend of whimsy whim·sy also whim·sey n. pl. whim·sies also whim·seys 1. An odd or fanciful idea; a whim. 2. A quaint or fanciful quality: stories full of whimsy. , romance and movie tributes. Doyle has given the film's characters the benefit of the Celtic Tiger For the Irish dance show, see . Celtic Tiger (Irish: Tíogar Ceilteach) is a name for the period of rapid economic growth in the Republic of Ireland that began in the 1990s and slowed in 2001, only to pick up pace again in 2003 boom, making them clean, comfortable and even a tiny bit prosperous. (Brendan's car sports a bumper sticker bumper sticker n. A sticker bearing a printed message for display on a vehicle's bumper. bumper sticker n → Aufkleber m that says ``Middle class and proud of it.'') But this seems less a statement of Irish pride than a way for him to try something different. Besides, ``When Brendan Met Trudy'' is hardly meant as a realistic character study; the film spends a good chunk of its 94-minute running time tipping its hat to other movies. We see this in the film's opening shot: Dublin schoolteacher Brendan (Peter McDonald
Peter "the yellow dart" McDonald (born in Belfast, 1962) is an author, university lecturer and critic. ) is lying face down in a puddle, making like William Holden in ``Sunset Boulevard'' and inviting us to go back with him to ``the day it all started.'' Brendan is a film buff (a film bore is more like it) and erstwhile church choir member whose modest social prospects drastically improve when he meets wild child Trudy (Flora Montgomery) in a pub one night. Brendan and Trudy are complete opposites, unlike, say Nora Ephron's Harry and Sally (alluded to in this movie's title), a couple you can actually see staying together. But Doyle and first-time director Kieron J. Walsh get some good mileage from the polarity of their lead characters. Trudy tells Brendan she's a teacher, too, but it's obvious from her odd- hour wanderings and her collection of sharp implements that she has another line of work. But Brendan is too busy enjoying having Trudy liberate him from his bookish book·ish adj. 1. Of, relating to, or resembling a book. 2. Fond of books; studious. 3. Relying chiefly on book learning: life to be too bothered by such trivial concerns. Their romance, though, seems mostly an excuse to celebrate a love of cinema, with Brendan and Trudy re-enacting or suggesting (often rather self-consciously) scenes from ``Breathless,'' ``The Searchers,'' ``Once Upon a Time in the West'' and ``The Producers.'' (``I'm wet! I'm hysterical and I'm wet!'') Those who love the aforementioned movies, as well as fans of Doyle's work, will probably get the biggest kick out of ``When Brendan Met Trudy.'' Otherwise, this uneven film won't leave you in the mood for either singing or dancing in the rain. ``WHEN BRENDAN MET TRUDY'' (Rated R: nudity, sexual situations and language) The stars: Peter McDonald and Flora Montgomery. Behind the scenes: Directed by Kieron J. Walsh. Screenplay by Roddy Doyle. Released by Shooting Gallery shooting gallery Substance abuse A place–eg, an abandoned building in an economically-depressed urban area–ie, a ghetto, where IV drug users congregate, purchase, inject–'shoot' heroin, cocaine, oxycodone or other drug. . Running time: One hour, 34 minutes. Playing: Loews Cineplex Fairfax Theatre in Los Angeles. Our rating: Two and one half stars CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Peter McDonald and Flora Montgomery star in the Roddy Doyle comedy ``When Brendan Met Trudy.'' |
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