THE VAN. (1996) DIRECTED BY STEPHEN FREARS.
BASED ON THE BOOK BY RODDY DOYLE.
STARRING COLM MEANEY, CAROLINE ROTHWELL, GER RYAN, NEILI CONROY, RUAIDHRI CONROY, DONAL O’KELLY, STUART DUNNE, BRENDAN O’CARROLL AND JON KENNY.
REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS. ©
‘Fuck Scillachi…’
This is the third film in Roddy Doyle’s THE BARRYTOWN TRILOGY; the other two being THE COMMITMENTS (1991) and THE SNAPPER (1993). THE VAN is short and sweet and very, very nostalgic, being in part a love letter to Italia ’90, Ireland’s most successful World Cup campaign ever.
I know, I know, we only made it to the quarter-finals, but that was good for us, and anyway, the fuss we made, you’d swear we’d won the whole bloody thing. Any-hoo, below is a short review of the movie which I penned in 2015 for reasons explained below:
This is a great f***ing film. I recently saw it on the f***ing big screen because the f***ing book on which it’s based forms part of Irish writer Roddy Doyle’s f***ing BARRYTOWN trilogy, which is the f***ing book of choice for this year’s f***ing DUBLIN: ONE CITY, ONE BOOK festival. Oh sorry, I mean f***ing festival, of course…
Why all the swears? You might well ask. Every second word in the film is the ‘F’ word, but instead of coming across as coarse or vulgar, it’s just really, really funny. The film tells the story of two unemployed friends, Larry and Bimbo, who buy a dilapidated old chip van together just in time for Italia ’90, in which Ireland made it to the quarter-finals and the whole country went football-mad for four whole weeks.
The whole film is one big nostalgia-fest, but only if you’re Irish. It’s got real-life footage of the matches in which Ireland did well, and also the one in which Ireland’s hopes were cruelly dashed by an Italian fella by the name of Scillachi.
There’s footage of Irish sporting legends Jack Charlton and goal-keeper Packie Bonner, and even the scenes in the pub during the matches, while obviously not taken from real life, have a really authentic feel to them. Yes, that’s what it was really like here during the World Cup of 1990…!
The film isn’t all about the footy, though. It’s mainly about the trials and tribulations of Larry and Bimbo as they set themselves up in a business that’s both unpredictable and tiring. Bimbo and Larry haven’t really worked out all the ins and outs of running their own business.
The health inspector is appalled by what he sees- Diane, Larry’s single-mother daughter, has been changing her baby’s shitty nappies in the van during her shift!- and by rights should shut the whole operation down right away. And I’m prepared to bet that Larry’s still drawing his dole and they haven’t filled out the relevant tax forms…
Though the film is well-acted by the entire cast, Colm Meaney as Larry acts everyone else into a cocked hat. You can keep your Liam Neesons and your Pierce Brosnans. Colm Meaney is Ireland’s best actor by miles, for me anyway. He’s funny and forthright and one hundred percent genuine as Larry, a man who is by no means perfect but who loves his family and his friends and wants to do right by them.
He and Bimbo fall out when Bimbo appears to be acting like the big boss of the operation, but ultimately they won’t allow the titular van to come between them and ruin their friendship. There’s something very touching about a genuine male friendship that you don’t get even with the closest of female friendships, and Bimbo and Larry make an adorable pair.
Brendan O’Carroll, aka Mrs. Brown, plays a total wide-boy or dodgy salesman in this, and I love Neili Conroy as Larry’s daughter Diane. Her hair is literally fabulous and she has the perfect face for a genuine Irish colleen.
Larry’s wife, Mary, is studying for the Leaving Certificate exam she failed to achieve while in school. This is a sure sign that she is trying to improve herself and her situation in life.
She appears very detached from her husband Larry during the film, and I put it to you that, once she has an academic qualification and some self-belief under her belt, she may no longer be quite so tolerant of Larry’s unemployment, his poor hygiene, his heavy drinking, his grubby little married-man infidelities, the time spent with his buddies as opposed to at home, with his wife and family… The list goes on…
THE SNAPPER (1993), just as a matter of interest, is the second film in the BARRYTOWN trilogy. It was also directed by Stephen Frears. The first film in the trilogy- makes it sound like LORD OF THE RINGS, doesn’t it, all this ‘trilogy’ palaver…?- is the 1991 movie, THE COMMITMENTS, directed by Alan Parker. Barrytown is a fictional area of Dublin, by the way, in case you hadn’t already worked that out.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this funny, touching film on the big screen. You really get the full f***ing effect of it that way. Try to watch it yourselves if you can. You will not be f***ing disappointed. I can f***ing promise you that.
sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris 