Milo O'Shea steals the show in this easy going film version of Lee Dunne's "Good-bye to the Hill". Raunchiness of Dunne's novel has been watered down for film, but if you're looking for 90 minutes of old fashioned "stage" Irishness with a touch of sixties free love thrown in, then this is OK. Similar to it's contemporary Quackser Fortune has a Cousin in the Bronx (Gene Wilder, Margo Kidder) also 1970, but not quite as cute.
2 Reviews
Routine comedy-drama has a few good scenes
highwaytourist27 July 2011
It's watchable but not memorable. This Irish film is heavily influenced by the British films of its era. Routhly speaking, it's a combination of swinging London sex comedy and kitchen sink drama. It's about Paddy Maguire, a likable but aimless Dublin youth from a struggling and dysfunctional working class family. He seeks to better his life while pursuing affairs with several different women. His youth and pleasant manner makes a good impression, but he is ill-prepared for what results from his bed-hopping or attempts at office politics. The film was one of the better-known movies from Ireland at the time, but was damaged by the Irish censorship laws, which were rather still strict back in 1970. Miles O'Shea virtually steals the film as the title character's middle-aged best friend, who gives him advice on the art of womanizing, but turns out not to be the expert he thinks he is. The title role is played by Des Cave in his debut. He's likable enough and not bad-looking, but he doesn't seem to be the type who's irresistible to all those attractive women. The film itself is as direction-less as the Paddy and it wanders from scene to scene randomly. It's easy to take, some moments do work, and there is a nice soundtrack, but there's little here that hasn't been done before and since. The ordinary nature of this film makes it forgettable.
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