For his first original film script, Irish novelist Roddy Doyle delivers anoff-beat love story thats as much about his own romance with movies as it is the relationship between meek teacher Brendan (McDonald) and brash bird Trudy (Montgomery).
Like Sunset Boulevard, the film begins with a hapless fellow drowned in water, only here its poor Brendan lying face down in a Dublin gutter. And in voice-over, much like in the Billy Wilder classic, nerdy film buff Brendan tells us how he got in such a predicament by falling for the ballsy charms of Trudy one night in the pub.
Wittily written, this unusual romance works brilliantly thanks to a terrific turn from McDonald and a career-making one from Montgomery, who sparkles as the gal we all wish could be on our side in a fight.