Reviews for "The Boys and Girl from County Clare"
Film Monthly
"Andrea Corr, one of three lovely sisters in the pop/rock/Celtic band, The Corrs, proved she had talent enough to carry a main role - having prior minor parts in acclaimed movies such as Evita and The Commitments. [...]
At and hour and a half running time, The Boys and Girl from County Clare is not trying to be an epic with Oscar worthy performances, but more of a light film where audiences feel the need to laugh out loud and stomp their feet during the wonderful Celtic rhythms."
(Chris Wood)
Washington Post
"There are few surprises in "The Boys and Girl From County Clare," a slight, predictable fable of two brothers, both leaders of traditional Irish bands, who must face each other after a 24-year estrangement when their bands enter an all-Ireland music competition. [...]
The film follows John Joe (Bernard Hill), his younger and sleazier brother, Jimmy (Colm Meaney) -- who left County Clare years ago and now lives in Liverpool (insert Beatles reference) -- and Maisie (Charlotte Bradley), over whom the brothers had the original falling out. Maisie and her daughter, Anne (played by the fetching Andrea Corr, of the Irish pop group the Corrs), play in John Joe's band. Anne doesn't know who her father is, only that he left her mother years ago. [...]
You could argue that the film's saving grace is the spirited ceili music that dominates it. But depending upon one's tolerance for the fiddles, harps and tin whistles of traditional Irish fare, this actually may prove a deterrent. Perhaps it should bear the label: For Eirephiles and Andrea Corr fans only."
(Kathi Wilcox)
Box office online
"Veteran director John Irvin turns in an altogether charming surprise with "The Boys and Girl from County Clare," a delightful ensemble piece set against the backdrop of Beatles-era Ireland and the toe-tapping cadence of traditional Irish Ceili music. [...]
Cast members, particularly the newcomers, look to reap even more. For the always-excellent Hill and Meany this is but another notch on a pair of already heavily perforated belts. For Evans and Corr, it's the beginning of what promise to be two very long and prosperous careers. As the key female figure in an otherwise male-dominated film, Corr is the picture of Irish radiance, exhibiting a natural flair for acting every bit as impressive as the musical skills she regularly displays in concert with her two elder sisters and brother. There's a boyish radiance to Evans, too, that almost recalls the charms of a younger Hugh Grant--soft smiles and an even softer heart."
(Wade Major)
eFilm critic
"The Boys From County Clare is kind of a topsy-turvy movie, with the familiar character actors in the lead and the good-looking romantic pairing in supporting roles. If Miramax picks up the rights, you can almost guarantee a cover that focuses on Andrea Corr and Shaun Evans with Bernard Hill and Colm Meaney nowhere in sight. [...]
The cast is good, individually, and plays well off each other. [...]
Corr and Evans likeably play likeable young people; Evans gets and "Introducing" credit while Ms. Corr gets billed before the title along with Meaney & Hill, so I gather someone sees them as being movie stars, though it's tough to tell from these supporting roles.
The Boys From County Clare is a good little movie. I went because I couldn't remember ever seeing Colm Meaney in a lead role before and found myself at least enjoying the funny bits, even if two vomit-related gags is at least one too many. The serious bits are a bit iffier, especially around the Anne/Teddy/Maisie resolution, but not enough to seriously detract from the film."
(Jay Seaver)
New York Times
"Everyone is likable in John Irvin's appealing if obvious little fable about two estranged brothers and their ceili, or traditional Irish, bands. [...]
The other significant characters are Anne (Andrea Corr), a pretty young fiddler in John Joe's ceili group, and her mother, Maisie (Charlotte Bradley), who has somehow managed never to tell Anne the identity of her father. [...]
Ms. Corr is a member of the Irish musical group the Corrs; her previous movie acting experience has consisted of small roles in "Evita" (as Juan Perón's mistress) and "The Commitments." She displays considerable screen presence here."
(Anita Gates)
Bella Online
"This film is in a sense quite old-fashioned. There is no scent of the Celtic Tiger, and for this reason, perhaps some reviewers were a bit tired with it. It is not about Ireland 2005. [...]
This is a delightful movie. Likely it will win no big awards, at least none so big as the All-Ireland Traditional Music Competition, the event that draws the best Ceili bands from throughout the region and the world. It is this competition and the practicing and the music-making that make this movie so well worth watching. [...]
As for the rest of the crew, well, there's perfect harmony in the cast, and Andrea Corr (of the Irish band, "The Corrs") is a perfect ingénue."
(Mary Ellen Sweeney)
Chicago Suntimes
"Corr, of the Irish pop band the Corrs, played Meaney's daughter in "The Commitments." "I'm very proud of her -- she's developed beautifully as an actress," Meaney says. "She's such a great girl, I was trying to get her to be a bit of a bitch in this: 'C'mon--throw your weight around. You're a pop star.' She's such a sweet girl."
(Abdon M. Pallasch)
Nashvillerage
"The Boys & Girl From County Clare is a comic tale of feuding fiddle-playing brothers who face off at a music contest. It's a slight little air, lilting and sweet, but very predictable. [...]
Corr, who is also lead singer of Irish pop band The Corrs, is very appealing, and she and Evans have good chemistry as the young lovers."
(Dana Kopp Franklin)
Irish Echo
" 'The Boys and Girl from County Clare' inverts the usual romantic plot convention, placing the character actors Hill and Meaney in the foreground and relegating the young and photogenic love interests, Corr and Evans, to supporting roles. And just as well, too -- the cantankerous sparring between the grouchy brothers provides most of the entertainment in a storyline that is astoundingly predictable to the point of absurdity, announcing all of its shocking non-surprises with all the subtlety of a bullhorn. [...]
Native talent shines through, though, in the form of Corr, radiant despite a trip to the frump section of the wardrobe department, playing the lovelorn violinist Anne, in her first film role since "The Commitments" 14 years ago."
(Michael Gray)
Honolulu Star Bulletin
"The original title for veteran British director John Irvin's light comedy didn't have the "girl" in the title when originally released two years ago. But since it's traveled over the pond to U.S. screens, it seems distributors wanted to play up the appearance of fetching Andrea Corr, singer with the internationally popular Irish group The Corrs. She turns in an appealing performance in her first lead role as the fiddler caught between separated parents, while her conflicted heart is captured by a smitten lad from Liverpool. [...]
Irvin does a yeoman job of juggling the dramatic and comedic scenes, but "County Clare" is less than the sum of its parts. I suspect this film played better on its home turf, but with the exception of some lovely and luring exterior shots of Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man (where it was shot), what you're left with is a merely pleasant and inoffensive bit of diversion."
(Gary C.W. Chun)
Film journal
"Appealing performers and some robustly performed traditional Irish music are the main draws of The Boys and Girl from County Clare, a modest comedy-drama situated in the west of Ireland. This tale of longstanding sibling rivalry set against a Ceili music competition doesn't score any points for originality, but it's a likeable enough 90-minute outing, especially for Eirephiles. [...]
Corr, in her first leading film role, is an attractive ingénue and an actress of promise. Shaun Adams, currently on screens as Annette Bening's scheming young suitor in Being Julia, is wholesomely winning here as the wide-eyed flutist who bonds with Corr's Anne."
(Kevin Lally)