Rat (2000)

Director:

Steve Barron

Writer:

Wesley Burrowes (written by)

Release Date:

6 October 2000 (Ireland)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

He might eat maggots and live in a cage but he's still our Dad

Plot:

A woman becomes furious when her husband arrives home from the local pub and turns into a rat.

Plot Keywords:

Rat | Pub | Exorcism | Christmas | Maggot

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Imelda Staunton	...	Conchita
Frank Kelly	...	Uncle Matt
David Wilmot	...	Phelim Spratt
Andrew Lovern	...	Pius Flynn
Kerry Condon	...	Marietta Flynn
Pete Postlethwaite	...	Hubert
Veronica Duffy	...	Daisy
Ed Byrne	...	Rudolph
Niall Toibin	...	Father Geraldo
Peter Caffrey	...	Mick the Barman
Rita Hamill	...	Estate Woman
Roxanna Williams	...	Hopscotch Child
Geoffrey Palmer	...	The Doctor
Stanley Townsend	...	Newsreader
Simon Delaney	...	Bookies Manager

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and brief nudity.

Runtime:

Argentina:89 min | Australia:88 min

Country:

Ireland | UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:PG | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

Jim Henson Company

Quotes:

Mr. Reilly: A plum pudding is for Christmas, but a rat is for life.

Soundtrack:

There's Nothing To It

Very funny look at Irish tough love

When their father Hubert suddenly turns into a rat, his family don't really know how to react, apart from putting him in a cage. When a journalist convinces them to write a book, he moves in and starts to mould their emotions to exploit the situation for fame and fortune.

The key to this film is in the imaginative set up and the funny telling rather than the actual plot itself. In terms of plot the film runs out of steam a little towards the end where it seems to realise that plotting hasn't been the main driving force of the film. What does drive the film is that it is laugh out loud funny almost all the way through. If you like the sort of Irish humour and characters then you'll like this a lot. The idea of being turned into a rat isn't really explained but this doesn't really matter.

The characters are all excellent, although Postlethwaite is really little more than cameo for most of the film, his part being played rather well by various white rats! Staunton is the strongest character and has captured the hard love of an Irish mother very well – focused on the practicals despite circumstances (a priest is called to the rat and she throws it in the washing machine so his dirty fur won't shame the family, `it's ok, he's on wool' she assures a concerned family member). Her character is hilarious throughout. Kelly (Father Jack) is strong in a small role, but Wilmot's character is less clear but seems to be the one that the plot is riding on. The kids' roles are pretty funny and the support cast of Irish stereotypes all do what they are expected to do.

When I watched this movie on TV I had never heard of it and I wonder how many people have actually seen it, it's a shame because this is really funny and worth seeing despite the fact that the actual plot itself is not as strong as the laughs deserve. Overall this is very funny throughout if you like the Father Ted style of slightly exaggerated Irish humour.