The Playboys (1992)

Memorable, crazy movie

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The Playboys is directed by Gillies MacKinnon, is written by Shane Connaughton and Kerry Crabbe. The film stars Robin Wright, Albert Finney, Aidan Quinn and Niamh Cusack.Ireland, in the 1950's. The occupants of a village are scandalised when Tara(Robin Wright)gets pregnant without being married, she refuses to say who the father is. Tara is ostracised by everyone in the village apart from her sister Brigid(Niamh Cusack)and the local policeman, Sergeant Hegarty(Albert Finney).Hegarty loves Tara very much but is much older than her and she doesn't love him. He tries to be kind to her and offers to help her with the baby, she throws all his kindness back in his face and he gets very angry. Matters aren't helped by the arrival of a group of travelling actors. Tara falls in love with one of them, the funny and passionate Tom Casey (Aidan Quinn). Their growing relationship enrages Hegarty and the two become rivals for Tara.Finney gives the standout performance in this for me, he perfectly conveys a man who is not used to showing his feelings but tries very hard for the woman he loves. Finney also does a good job of portraying this mans anger slowly building up and up until it has to be released, one of his very best performances. Robin Wright is superb as Tara, Robin makes her tough and passionate. Aidan is a great deal of fun as the handsome travelling actor who falls for Tara.

As is, this movie is loosely a romantic comedy which tries desperately to inject drama into a shallow, unconvincing plot. The story centers around the plight of a woman who has a child out of wedlock in a small Irish village in the 1950s. Instead of exploring the realistic spectrum of human behavior that could arise in such a situation, it relies on stale caricatures. It spends a lot of screen time trying to show how hypocritical all the village folk are as they look down on this poor single mother yet indulge in bad behavior every chance they get. For as we all know from watching many Hollywood movies, in the 1950s the world was ruled by silly hypocritical cavemen who forced their oppressive, outdated morality on the enlightened young'uns.The main characters are not especially likable and when the single mother develops a new love interest, the plot fails to give a convincing reason why the couple would care about each other (beyond lust). That makes it very hard to care what happens.Honestly, some people might think this movie is OK, but very few people will love it. The acting is decent, but the plot is just so uninspired and built around unrealistic clichés that it doesn't connect with the heart.

It's 1957 and the setting is a small village in Ireland. Tara (Robin Wright Penn) lives with her sister and runs a tailoring/dressmaking shop. She has recently set the local tongues to wagging by having a baby out of wedlock and not naming the father. The town priest is encouraging her to look at Brendan (Albert Finney), a local police officer madly in love with her, as a possible husband. But, Tara is not in love with him and won't consider it. A second suitor actually commits suicide for the love of her, it is supposed. Only when a troupe of actors comes to town does Tara meet someone who interests her. That would be Tom (Aidan Quinn), a most friendly and engaging gentleman who stars in the troupe's productions. However, Brendan is most displeased to have a rival and thwarts Tom's attentions as best he can. Will Tara be able to find happiness? The Irish setting is beautiful, as no one can disguise the loveliness of the country. However, the story here is most somber. Life in this village is restrictive and sobering, with hardly a break, for anyone, from the harsh realities of life. Penn's Tara is a very worthy lady, who defies the odds to keep her son. Finney is wonderfully scary as the policeman who hounds Tara, day and night, to accept his hand. By contrast, Quinn's Tom is a breath of fresh air, with his good spirits and funny manners. If you wish to see Ireland, and can put up with a story of a depressing nature, this is a good view. For, although the tale is sad, it does have its moments and the scenery is a knockout. Just do not expect a mirthful tale, as depicted on the handsome box cover.

This film was billed as a drama. You could have fooled me. The productions of the travelling group of thespians are the funniest things I have ever seen.Forget the plot about the young unwed mother with two suitors and just watch the hilarious performances of the rag-tag travelling gypsy players who tour Ireland performing in a threadbare tent, led by the flamboyant actor manager played with gusto by Milo O'Shea. For those of you who are not familiar with this great Irish stage actor, Mr. O'Shea played Sam Malone's Irish Uncle in the Woody's Wedding two-part episode of Cheers, on TV. The troupe of players are not above changing the script to accommodate whatever actors or costumes are available, and they open up with a song and dance act, no matter what the play. Lines are read from cue cards, and even made up as they go along. Even Othello begins with a can can. You will never be able to watch Gone with the Wind with a straight face again after you have seen it performed as a musical in a tent in a small Irish town. I have not laughed as much since I saw the theatrical troupe in a Midsummer Night's Dream.The lead actors, Robin Wright and Aidan Quinn make an attractive couple, and Albert Finney does well as the heavy, but it is the players who make this movie such a joy.