Waking Ned [1999]

Amazon.co.uk Review When local wag Jackie O'Shea (Ian Bannen) discovers that one of his neighbours in the village of Tulaigh Mohr is a lottery winner he sees a chance to share in the wealth. Things get complicated when Jackie and his pal Michael O'Sullivan (David Kelly) discover that the winner, Ned Devine, died of shock at the very moment he learned of becoming a millionaire. Undaunted, Jackie and Michael dispose of the lucky stiff and hatch a plot to impersonate him and claim the prize. Soon the whole village is involved and the plot rapidly thickens. This film has been compared to The Full Monty, but it lacks the vein of desperation that added depth to that film. Instead, Waking Ned is closer in tone to classic British comedies like Whisky Galore!, with its cast of eccentrics gleefully conspiring to outwit the authorities. Those with a low tolerance for twinkly eyed Irish charm might be tempted to steer clear, although the movie is saved, for the most part, by its central performances. Bannen is superb as an old man who is clearly hungry for any excitement he can drum up and David Kelly is remarkable as his scrawny sidekick. Kelly has had a long career as a character actor in film and television, but here he has a chance to really let loose. His naked motorcycle ride is a marvellous set-piece and in all of his other scenes his twitchy, perfectly timed performance quite simply steals the movie. --Simon Leake, Amazon.com Product Description When Ned Devine dies of shock after he discovers he has won the lottery, his life-long friends Michael (David Kelly) and Jackie (Ian Bannen) find the winning ticket and decide that their old mate would have wanted them to collect the money. They deduce that one of them must pass himself off as Ned. But they must convince the rest of the town to go along with their scheme, and they will need all the help that they can get in order to dupe the authorities into parting with the cash.