The Commitments (1991)

When Jimmy Rabbitte wants to start a band, he has open auditions at his house.

Director:

Alan Parker

Writers:

Roddy Doyle (novel), Dick Clement (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 11 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Arkins	...	Jimmy Rabbitte
Michael Aherne	...	Steven Clifford
Angeline Ball	...	Imelda Quirke
Maria Doyle Kennedy	...	Natalie Murphy (as Maria Doyle)
Dave Finnegan	...	Mickah Wallace
Bronagh Gallagher	...	Bernie McGloughlin
Félim Gormley	...	Dean Fay
Glen Hansard	...	Outspan Foster
Dick Massey	...	Billy Mooney
Johnny Murphy	...	Joey 'The Lips' Fagan
Ken McCluskey	...	Derek Scully (as Kenneth McCluskey)
Andrew Strong	...	Deco Cuffe
Colm Meaney	...	Mr. Rabbitte
Anne Kent	...	Mrs. Rabbitte
Andrea Corr	...	Sharon Rabbitte

Storyline

Funny, musical and occasionally dramatic, this is the story of tumultuous rise and fall of a Dublin Soul band, The Commitments. Managed by Jimmy Rabbitte, an unemployed wheeler and dealer with a vision to create "The Worlds Hardest Working Band".

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Plot Keywords:

title same as book | band | audition | singer | song | 

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Taglines:

They had nothing to lose, they risked it all.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site of the Commitments band

Country:

Ireland UK USA

Language:

English Irish

Release Date:

13 September 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Camino a la fama

Filming Locations:

Ballymun, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$14,919,570

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beacon Communications, Beacon Pictures, Dirty Hands Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A sequel was proposed for the film which would have reunited the band in New York City.

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Goofs

Several band members are kicking a can in an alley waiting for the others just before the Mr. Chippy van scene. Joey's scooter appears around the corner in the distance at the end of the alley, approaching the group, and gets partway down the alley. We change camera angles, but this time there's someone walking a dog across the end of the alley where the scooter just entered, and the scooter continues toward us down the alley. We change camera angles again, and although the scooter is further down the alley, the dog walker is just starting to cross at the alley entrance again.

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Quotes

Heavy Metal Singer: [at Jimmy's door, stating his musical influences] Wings...
Heavy Metal Singer: [Jimmy slams the door on him] Bachman-Turner Overdrive?

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Connections

Followed by The Van (1996)

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Soundtracks

I Can't Stand The Rain
Written by Donald Bryant, Ann Peebles and Bernard Miller
Performed by Angeline Ball

User Reviews

Excellent story about the rise and fall of Irish "saviors of soul".

Alan Parker's brilliant directing effort on THE COMMITMENTS really shines. More than an entertaining spectacle, it has a whole lot of influence on the soul music circuit. Shots of Dublin city life are nicely photographed. The musical acts are extremely well talented and well done, if only the occasional dialogue breaks didn't interrupt the awesome sound. There could've been some more new tunes instead of old ones, but it's amazing to discover the fictional band's lead singer pull them off out of his lungs. Phenomenal! At least you can try to find the soundtrack album. One thing stands out the best: the casting. We need more of today's movies to do the same thing: to provide creative acting talents. The musical genre of modern Hollywood needed something like this to keep it afloat. Highly recommended!