Other Titles • The Closer You Get • American Women
Synopses for The Closer You Get (2000)
1.
To get people into church, a young priest starts screening films every other Tuesday. He's expecting The Ten Commandments; instead, he gets 10, with Bo Derek, which launches the lonely lads of this isolated Irish town into wild fantasies about sexy American women. One rambunctious night in the local pub, the boys decide to place an ad in the Miami Herald, asking for attractive young women to come to their town for a dance and possible marriage. Thus begins American Women (formerly The Closer You Get), an enjoyable comedy in the vein of Waking Ned Devine. When the town's women learn of this hare-brained scheme, their reactions vary from bemusement to offense, and they set in motion a counter-scheme that changes the course of romance in the village. The cast is largely unknown (the most recognizable face is Ian Hart, who played John Lennon in Backbeat) but talented all around, investing their rural characters with heart and intelligence, without being afraid of poking a bit of fun at their foibles. American Women is produced by the same people who produced The Full Monty. While this movie treads similar territory (the sometimes conflicting desires of men and women), it has a little less comic punch and a little more Irish bittersweetness. --Bret Fetzer
2.
For five desperate Irishmen, the perfect girl is abroad... so they place an ad in a Miami newspaper, hoping to entice American beauties to their tiny Irish village. The scheme to stir up a bit of romance works, but not the way they'd planned. Because the harder the five friends look abroad, the more they realize that what they've been looking for is right next door.
3.
A group of ordinary Irish fellows are bored and dissatisfied with the local women in their small town. Led by fashion-conscious butcher Ian, they decide to pool their resources and put an ad in an American newspaper inviting American women to their town dance in the hope of attracting some exciting potential mates. The local women, including Ian's smitten assistant Siobhan, decide to retaliate in their own way. A sweet and charming romantic comedy from the producer of THE FULL MONTY.
4.
An undemanding slice of Irish whimsy, The Closer You Get may not hit the crowd-pleasing heights of Waking Ned, but ultimately settles in to a comfortable, enticing groove inhabited by the likes of TV's Ballykissangel. The debut feature of Aileen Ritchie and set in a desolate coastal town of Kilvara in County Donegal, the story concerns the lovelorn male townsfolk who advertise for Gaelic-loving women in a Florida newspaper. This action stirs the jealousies of Kilvara's women, who respond by inviting a group of Spaniards to the local dance. A battle of the sexes ensues ultimately resulting in the Guinness-swilling eejits realising that they shouldn't squander what they've got. Simple moral, simple clichés, simple humour, but executed with a considerable charm that makes it an undeniably enjoyable and light-hearted film. Ian Hart is particularly likable as local butcher Kieran (bizarrely dyeing his hair bright blonde to impress the ladies) while he and his boredom-numbed mates are more than matched by the feisty likes of Niamh Cusack and Cathleen Bradley as Kilvara's ignored beauties. Add in some beautiful locations and what you have is an inoffensive little charmer that will suit any lazy afternoon's viewing--and what's wrong with that? --Danny Graydon
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