"Waking Ned Devine" by Kirk Jones Is the Best Comedy I Have Ever Seen - Part 2
Ed Bagley

Waking Ned Devine is set in Ireland but filmed on the Isle
of Man, an island in the Irish Sea that is a British crown
possession with home rule.

The Narrator for the film (Paul Vaughan) sets the stage for
the film with this great observation:

"Saturday evening, and the world is much the same as at any
other point in the history of the world. The planets and
stars orbit and spin, and do everything that is expected of
them. On Earth, as the sun sets, millions prepare for an
event that is much less predictable.

"In 63 countries around the world, dozens of lottery
machines spin hundreds of lottery balls. It takes seconds
for the winning numbers to be selected . . .seconds for the
losers to realize that they have lost. But for the winners,
it is an event that will undoubtedly change their lives
forever . . . lucky sods!"

In the tiny Irish village of Tullymore two best
friends?Jackie O'Shea (Ian Bannen) and Michael O'Sullivan
(David Kelly)?discover that someone among them has won the
Irish lottery, and they go to great lengths to find the
winner.

After concocting an elaborate chicken-dinner ploy that
fails to rat out the winner, they plough through a horrific
rainstorm to call on the only person to not attend the
dinner. When they find the elderly Ned Devine with the
winning ticket is in his hand he is dead.

Imagine Ned Devine at his moment of triumph. He survived
endless storms upon the sea as a fisherman but ends up
dying of shock in his lazy boy upon discovering his good
fortune.

Jackie O'Shea, being the good Irishman he is, does not want
the money to go to waste and convinces his reluctant friend
Michael O'Sullivan to go along with his plan. You simply
must see what happens when these two pikers get about the
business of dealing with Ned Devine's body.

Jackie's wife Annie (Fionnula Flanagan) is beside herself
when she learns of Jackie's plan, upbraiding Jackie for his
dishonesty and fearing that both of them will end up in
jail.

Jackie, being the creative Irishman he is, lets Annie know
that he has had a dream that the deceased Ned would want to
share his winnings with him.

When Jackie and Michael were skinny-dipping in the sea,
they bump into the claims inspector as he is coming to
interview Ned Devine to settle the claim ticket. Jackie
takes the claims inspector on a wild goose chase while
trying to find "Ned's" house, and Michael is left to jump
on a moped naked and make a mad dash back to the house
before the inspector arrives.

Earlier, when Jackie's wife Annie learns he has put Michael
up for the part of Ned Devine, she reminds him that "he's
never told a lie in his life." "Well," replies Jackie,
"he's making up for it now." Michael, nervous as a cat,
does pull it off, and the inspector lets Michael know that
his payout will be almost $6.9 million Irish pounds.

If you can only see one other comedy bit ever, see Michael
O'Sullivan, buck naked, riding that moped like a man
possessed. It is beyond comedy, it will be legend for
those in the know.

Only when Jackie discovers that the winning ticket is worth
$6.9 million Irish pounds does he realize how out of the
control the situation has become, and that the entire
village will have to become involved to pull off a
deception of this magnitude.

Every villager to a person agrees with the plan except for
Lizzy Quinn (Eileen Dromey), a cantankerous,
wheelchair-bound, b-class whiner who holds out for a hefty
10% take with a threat that she will spill the beans.

When pushed Lizzy (I hope my memory serves me right in
thinking this is the right character) makes good on her
promise, and wheels herself up the road to the pay phone by
the cliff.

Fortunately for the villagers, Lizzy dies when the lottery
claim inspector's car spins out of control and forces an
oncoming van to crash into the phone booth, sending Lizzy
over the cliff before she can report the fraud.

The claims inspector shows up in the middle of the funeral
with the $6.9 million pound check for Ned Devine, sending
all of the attending villagers into a state of emotional
and mental panic. Jackie O'Shea who is delivering the
eulogy slides into some instant Irish resourcefulness with
this brilliant piece of oratory:

"Michael O'Sullivan was my great friend. But I don't ever
remembering telling him that. The words that are spoken at
a funeral are spoken too late for the man who is dead. What
a wonderful thing it would be to visit your own funeral. To
sit at the front and hear what was said, maybe say a few
things yourself.

"Michael and I grew old together. But at times, when we
laughed, we grew young. If he was here now, if he could
hear what I say, I'd congratulate him on being a great man,
and thank him for being a friend."

Waking Ned Devine is both one of the best comedies ever
made and a classic study in relationships, not just among
friends and families but among a small community as well.

Kirk Jones has given this story heart, risk, honor,
integrity, unity, romance, love, tolerance, chicanery and
Irish whiskey all rolled into a masterpiece of
storytelling. Waking Ned Devine is the funniest film I
have ever seen.

Because Ned Devine is a comedy and also a story about
relationships among common people, this, as much as
anything, gives it such solid goodness despite the
deception. I mean really, who wants to give $6.9 million
Irish pounds back to the government when it really belongs
to the people?

There are other subplots in Waking Ned Devine too good to
detail here. We learn of the romance between Maggie O'Toole
(Susan Lynch) and Pig Finn (James Nesbitt), a pig farmer
Maggie would like to marry if she did not have to smell him.

We learn that Maggie has a son, and Pig Finn wonders if he
is the father. We learn that the real father is none other
than Ned Devine, and that the son is rightfully due the
entire $6.9 million pounds as the legal heir. Maggie,
thankfully, realizes that a rising tide lifts all ships to
a better place.

Waking Ned Devine ends with Jackie O'Shea, Michael
O'Sullivan, Maggie's boy and Pig Finn all raising a toast
to Ned Devine while standing on a cliff overlooking the
sea. A better comedy I may not see in my lifetime.

Sadly, recognition for Kirk Jones, the cast, outstanding
casting by John and Ros Hubbard, and cinematography by
Henry Braham all go without their proper due.

To prove there is some small measure of justice in the
world, the budget for Waking Ned Devine was estimated at $3
million and this independent film has generated at least
$43 million worldwide and the video is still raking in more
bucks.

There are 6.9 million reasons to see Waking Ned Devine, but
here is the best one: Kirk Jones. I raise a second toast of
Jameson's to Kirk Jones' effort. I may only be 15% Irish,
but it is the best 15% of me. I am a better person for
having seen Waking Ned Devine.

(Editor's Note: This is Part 2 of a 2-Part review.)


About the Author:

Read more of my movie reviews on families, including:
"A Christmas Story"
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding"
"Secondhand Lions"
"The Chorus (Les Choristes in French)"
"Waking Ned Devine"
These are all excellent films that can make you smile,
laugh, cry and feel better for the experience.
Find my articles at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/MovieReviews.html