Wide Open Spaces (2009)

Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Expected more

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Wide Open Spaces is one of the UNfunniest comedies I have ever had the misfortune to watch. Gerard Ring (Owen Roe) is a chancer of the highest order with seemingly an endless supply of failing get rich quick schemes. The latest of these being a 'Famine Theme Park'. Myles (Ardal O'Hanlon) and Austin (Ewan Bremner) are flatmates who owe people a lot of money after selling fake merchandise on e-bay and they land jobs with Ring setting up his park.Characters are introduced all over the place at random with seemingly no thought and all are idiotic. Inevitably disappear just as randomly and with little or no explanation. The dialogue is flat, boring and pointless. The plot is non-existent. The only good things about this movie are the Neil Hannon soundtrack and the fact that it's mercifully short. If you have this DVD and haven't watched it yet pop on the special features and go through them. The bits they have there are ten times better than the movie itself.

Coming to this film by way of having read that Neil Hannon put some music to it, and being familiar with the Father Ted series, I had expected to see a funny light movie. I was therefore not entirely sure what to make of it at first, it being kind of slow and sombre. If it hadn't been for me wanting to hear the music I might not have finished it, as it was somewhat lacking in clear plot lines and momentum. However, I'm glad I did, because all in all it is a very enjoyable movie, with a humble sense of humour, attention to people, landscape, light and weather (think Bela Tarr, but less depressing). It may have been that seeing this movie in 3 or 4 parts and not in one continuous sitting, has given it more time to sink in and be absorbed (see 15 minutes, pause for making coffee, see some more, sleep over it, and finish on a quiet Sunday, then think about it some more). It will then possibly leave you with a melancholy longing for desolate quarries in the company of one or two acquaintances after having done nothing important but experiencing a kind of satisfactory feeling. Looking forward to a DVD with slow commentary and a making of.

I love Ardal O'Hanlon, his performance as Dougal in the sitcom 'Father Ted', is one of the best things about 90's, UK comedy. I love Ewan Bremner, his performance in Trainspotting as the junkie, Spud, is one of the best things about 90's, UK cinema. Why then would both actors agree to star in something that feels like the aborted pilot of the worlds most depressing buddy-comedy? Myles (O'Hanlon) and Austin (Bremner) are best friends, who agree to work on Ireland's first, and only, famine themed adventure park. It's being run by a crooked businessman, who in turn is being funded by an eccentric, video-art obsessed, middle-aged vamp, who takes every opportunity to flirt with both him, and the two lads. They share a tin hut, in which a lot of the film is set, as they sit on their bunks and discuss their various problems in depth. O'Hanlon as Myles actually has a few good lines and his character, a depressed, pseudo intellectual, is quite engaging and sympathetic. He's level headed, but has very bad luck in life, chain smoking and pontificating away. Spud from Trainspotting, sorry, I mean Ewan Bremner, is playing Austin as a complete idiot, stumbling through his chores, and kind of making life more difficult for poor Myles.Their boss charges them with some inexplicable debt collection, whereby they meet the repugnant Mr. Doo-La-Lee (HAHAHAHAHA!!!), who tries to do a runner, but winds-up becoming their friend, silly adventures follow. The film relies on the same brand of awkward humour that made 'The Office' a huge hit, as well as a little slap-stick and a small dose of dry, self-depreciating navel gazing, which was the only thing that kept me watching. I counted 14 people who left, and it was a press screening and yes, I did count, I was that bored. The film simply doesn't work. It's stilted, boring and frustrating. Written by the talented Arthur Mathews (Brass Eye, The Day Today, Big Train, The Fast Show, Black Books - This guy's a Brit-Com veteran!), Wide Open Spaces is, at best, not very funny and quite disappointing given the talent involved, and at worst, unwatchable.

I couldn't work out if the slacker characters in the dreich muddy locations, with a hard and boring job, sleeping in a cold and boring tin hut, being ripped off, with no interesting future in front of them were: a. a metaphor for me and the rest of the audience b. having more fun than me and the rest of the audience.I also worry about the careers of the actors and screen-writer and I hate posting such a negative review, but I feel quite cross about my wasted afternoon.This was purportedly a dark comedy, but being a bit dull with a couple of gags that raised a mild titter from the audience leaves it short on both counts. There are very mild echoes of Withnail and I, none of Father Ted, and an overall impression that nobody really believed in what they were doing.