The Closer You Get (2000)

The Closer You Get: Directed by Aileen Ritchie. With Ian Hart, Sean McGinley, Niamh Cusack, Ruth McCabe. Irish lads send an ad to the Miami Herald inviting fit and enticing women, between the ages of 20 and 21, to live in their isolated Donegal village. The whole town knows about the ad, and it sharpens everyone’s sense of the opportunities for happiness already at hand. Kate, a publican with a young daughter, is separating from her husband and catches the eye of a bachelor sheep farmer. Kieran the butcher realizes that his assistant Siobhan is comely, and then he discovers she’s fiery as well. Ollie sends off for Dutch skin magazines that the village postmistress won’t release to him. The men, and women, find counsel in their movie-loving priest. Will anyone answer the ad?

“This is a film that is very easy to relate to for somebody who grew up living in a small Australian town. Overall, the film is quite a clever play on a simple story line, and it makes you wonder why this theme wasnu0026#39;t explored or performed years ago. The only character in the film who seems oddly out of place is u0026quot;Patu0026quot; (Ewan Stewart). You have to ask why a former Scottish Football Star would end up running a pub in an out of the way Irish fishing village? Again the character u0026quot;Patu0026quot; provides the only sad note in the film as he splits from his screen wife as a result of his filandering ways. His wife played by Niamh Cussack, plays a lead in the film, but is not without some blame for the split in the marriage. Through the film there is the suggestion of romantic interest in another of the lead characters.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enOther notable moments in the film that tickled my funny bone are when u0026quot;Ollieu0026quot; describes his desire to local Post Mistress to, u0026quot;take a woman to the celestial heavens and worship heru0026quot;, and those u0026quot;Church Bellsu0026quot;. Overall, I had a really good kack when I saw this film in the cinema. Comedy films arenu0026#39;t generally meant to make you think, they are more meant to entertain. u0026quot;American Womenu0026quot; or u0026quot;The Closer You Getu0026quot; definately entertains. Iu0026#39;ve certainly seen a lot worse low budget comedies, and for that matter, Iu0026#39;ve certainly seen some real shockers that have been made on a high budget. The u0026quot;Closer You Getu0026quot; is definately good value for money.”