Product Description

When Ned Devine dies from shock after winning the lottery, two longtime friends, Micheal and Jackie, discover the body and agree Ned would want them to benefit from his good luck. They embark upon an outrageous scheme to claim the ticket but first they have to get all the townsfolk to go along with their plan!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #903 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-06-01
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.com
When local wag Jackie O'Shea (Ian Bannen) discovers that one of his neighbors in the village of Tulaigh Mohr is a lottery winner he sees a chance to share in the wealth. Things get complicated when Jackie and his pal Michael O'Sullivan (David Kelly) discover that the winner, Ned Devine, died of shock at the very moment he learned of becoming a millionaire. Undaunted, Jackie and Michael dispose of the lucky stiff and hatch a plot to impersonate him and claim the prize. Soon the whole village is involved and the plot rapidly thickens.

This film has been compared to The Full Monty, but it lacks the vein of desperation that added depth to that film. Instead, Waking Ned Devine is closer in tone to classic British comedies like Whisky Galore!, with its cast of eccentrics gleefully conspiring to outwit the authorities. Those with a low tolerance for twinkly eyed Irish charm might be tempted to steer clear, although the movie is saved, for the most part, by its central performances. Bannen is superb as an old man who is clearly hungry for any excitement he can drum up and David Kelly is remarkable as his scrawny sidekick. Kelly has had a long career as a character actor in film and television, but here he has a chance to really let loose. His naked motorcycle ride is a marvelous set piece and in all of his other scenes his twitchy, perfectly timed performance quite simply steals the movie. --Simon Leake

From The New Yorker
This picture is essentially a "very special episode" of the BBC TV show "Ballykissangel." There may be no official connection to the series, but fans will recognize actors, character types, a major plot device, even the name of the local pub as common to both enterprises. This is not a bad thing, since the actors are fine, the characters endearing, the plot funny, and the pub appropriately raucous and melodious; it's just not terribly energizing. Kirk Jones wrote and directed this tribute to the Irish spirit, which he sees as composed of equal parts avarice and poetry. Filmed on the Isle of Man. -Ken Marks
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Simply Great !!!
I write this on a night I just watched the DVD again and find myself baffled by the a few of the poor reviews. I must have been watching another movie? This movie had it all...great actors, beautiful Irish countryside, a charming story, and humor too. In a world of simple American TV shows and overdone cop shows this stands out. A quick note on a nay sayer...it was said..well these people are stealing and how about the heir to the $. watch the movie again please! I highly recommend this movie for everyone!!!

Brilliant
This is one of those rare films that I'm keeping to watch again, and you'd never know it from the back cover or, in particular, the movie trailer. I watched that after the movie, fortunately.

The writing is spot-on, the acting is first rate, the characters feel every bit as real as anyone you'd ever hope to meet in Ireland, and the Isle of Man contributes some incredible scenery. The movie is sharp, funny, perceptive, and an absolutely engrossing experience. It simply can't be improved upon.

Excellent movie!
I've actually purchased this movie twice, it's that good and when the next dvd give outs I'll buy it again! Casting, location, story line - it's probably my favorite movie of all time with Saving Grace coming in second.