An Everlasting Piece (2000)

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Colin gets a new job as a barber working as the "new Catholic" barber in a Belfast mental institution. His colleague is George – a protestant with a love of poetry who is also a barber. A chance meeting with a mad wig salesman known as the scalper sees them getting their hands on his leads list and the pair decide to dip their feet into the toupee market. Calling themselves the Piece Men, they start following the leads even though it takes their mixed-faith business into dangerous areas.The general humour in Northern Ireland tends to be quite a dry and cynical affair that has grown out of the decades of terrorism that we've had to endure. As with many places the same, a certain gallows humour grows out to help deal with the violence and it is strange therefore that we haven't had more Northern Irish comedies that use the troubles as a background while trading on this darkly rich style of humour. One reason may be seen here though, because this isn't that good a film and it is very uneven in the laughter stakes. The unlikely plot doesn't help either and, although it touches on the problem of living in Northern Ireland and the community struggles, it never seems to have much substance to it consistently – meaning that when it tries to, it doesn't really work.The laughs are very thinly (sorry) scattered throughout the film and mostly it trades on a sort of Oirish charm that generally the US wants from all Irish films. Being from Northern Ireland I found this push towards that approach to be quite annoying and demeaning and it didn't actually seem to benefit the film in anyway. The cast are OK but they cannot get the laughs and they cannot make characters against the onslaught of "Irish" sentimentality from the music and the tone of the script. McEvoy and O'Byrne lead the film pretty well although it would have been nicer if both had been more relaxed into the comedy and more able to deal with the dramatic sides. As it is, they rest somewhere in-between, doing alright but not that great. Friel is a strange find but she does well enough in support alongside nice turns from people like Convey, McAleer and McLynn – although what Billy Connolly was doing was beyond me.Overall this is a so-so comedy but not a great one and certainly not one that does justice to the humour of Northern Ireland. The cast are OK but the problems run deeper – the material isn't that funny and isn't as interesting as the community conflicts could have been. Perhaps worth a look but really not that good.

This is a strange film. It can be very amusing, but also very frightening. You don't have to take sides in the conflict in Ireland to appreciate that the people there have been living on the edge for some time.If you want Cheech or Chong then stay away. But if you want to feel uncomfortable, have a laugh, and perhaps feel just a little bit of empathy for your fellow human beings then this is a great film.Personally, I could do with less F*ing language, but it is important to consider the characters involved. In real life they just don't go around saying 'golly gosh' and 'darn'.Billy Connolly is a perfect choice for his role, and is an integral part of the film. A mad scotsman? Why? Because only the Irish have the strengh of character and mind to stay sane under the condition in which they have had to live. And even then .....Don't watch this film for the laughs. Don't watch it for the actors. Don't even watch it for the sake of Billy Connolly. Watch it to see that spark of humanity that we sometimes refer to as the soul.

"An Everlasting Piece" is a lively, smart little comedy which tells of two barbers in 1980's Belfast, one Prot and the other Catholoic, who start a toupee business and struggle to succeed against the adversity of a divided Ireland, commercial competition, and their own religious/political alignments. "AEP" is solid throughout with fresh faces, a good musical score, a clever and spunky story, lots of wry Irish wit and a few poignant moments too. Not your usual slappy-sticky comedy fare, "AEP" will appeal most to those who appreciate wry comedic subtleties. If you don't love the Irish, find another movie.

I have to disagree with some of the other comments on this film. In my opinion it is one of the cleverest satires that I have seen but you have to concentrate on it and not expect it to be obviously realistic. It is very well written, acted and directed with an extremely clever ending. Reminiscent of the ability of Noel Coward or Oscar Wilde to depict human frailty in a comical light (but missing the blistering dialogue of the latter). The word "wry" comes to mind and its only faults are some slowness in building up to the ending and, while most of the characters are deliberately portrayed as rather childish and naive, some are a little overdone. In particular, Colm's definition of when an action is "a gesture" is absolutely superb satire. This film is wit, not comedy in the rather obvious sense which so often prevails these days. I would give it a "much better than average" rating for a discerning viewer who wants something better than what is mostly on offer.