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 Absolutely Nothing. But They Were Willing To Risk 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

The Corrs, the highly successful Irish band, got their start by auditioning for the film, and they each won small roles. Andrea Corr (lead vocals & tin whistle) plays Jimmy's little sister Sharon. Jim Corr (guitar) is part of the Avant-Garde-A-Clue Band. Caroline Corr (drums) appears in the audience during the performance of "I Never Loved A Man". Finally, Sharon Corr (violin) can be seen playing violin with the country & western band that Bernie joins at the end of the film. John Hughes, the film's musical coordinator, became the band's manager. Director Alan Parker later asked Andrea for a role in the film/musical Evita (1996).

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Goofs

When listing famous rock stars who died, "the guy from Free" was listed as "died choking on vomit." Paul Kossoff actually died of drug-related heart problems.

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Quotes

Jimmy Rabbitte: Elvis is not soul.
Jimmy Rabbitte, Sr.: [defensively] Elvis is God.
Jimmy Rabbitte: I never pictured God with a fat gut and corset singing "My Way" at Caesar's Palace.

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Connections

Referenced in The Golden Girls: The Commitments (1992)

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Soundtracks

Slip Away
Written by Wilbur Terrell, Marcus Daniel (as Marcus Daniels) and William Armstrong
Performed by Robert Arkins, with Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle Kennedy, and Bronagh Gallagher

User Reviews

Funny, heartbreaking and true

Who needs expensive movie stars when a group of unknowns can light up the screen like this lot?

On paper, it sounds like a failure - a cast comprising almost entirely of untrained and untested performers, set in working class Dublin, based on the novella by Roddy Doyle. By God, does it defy expectations.

Jimmy Rabbitte is a working class Dublin lad who's been collecting unemployment benefits for two years. But he dreams of bigger things, namely making it big in the music industry. He sets out to form a soul band, and assembles a motley crew of musicians and singers, most of whom don't know each other and many of whom can't stand each other.

The look of the film is gritty and realistic - nothing is glossed over. North Dublin is presented in all it's glory. The home lives of the band members are depicted warts and all - their private lives set the scene for the inevitable personality clashes that are almost as explosive as the music. In the mix is the unique character of the Irish people - at one point Jimmy enters a tenement block and, as he waits for the lift, looks over to see a boy with a horse. "You aren't taking that in the lift, are you?" he asks. "I have to," the boy replies. "The stairs would kill him."

The real star of the show is the music - this film spawned two hugely successful soundtrack albums. The band members were cast partly due to their musical ability, and the results are superlative. The stand out is Andrew Strong as Deco - would you believe this kid was only 16 when the film was made? His amazing voice belies his tender years, and suggests that he's been smoking a packet a day since the age of about four. At the end of the day with is a fine ensemble piece, much like the band. The acting may be a little wonky at times, but the hysterical dialogue makes up for that.

Most remarkably, this is a feel good film that does not rely on any of the conventional feel good plot devices. There are no group hugs, no plot conveniences, no trite happy endings. Just a shrewdly observed and wittily captured human story about people who dream of making it out of their dreary world. And isn't that something we can all relate to?