Waking Ned Devine

Truth be told, I found writer/director Kirk Jones' offbeat British comedy much more entertaining than three of this year's Oscar nominees for Best Picture (you can probably guess which ones, but for the record, they are Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line and the costume drama clunker Elizabeth). Although it raked in a respectable $25 million at the boxoffice, Waking Ned Devine will find its true audience on home video. Set in the sleepy little village of Tully More, the film revolves around a simple (yet masterfully realized) storyline: Ned Devine goes from the luckiest to one of the unluckiest men of the world in the time it takes his brain to send the signal that he's won the lottery down to his heart. Discovering poor dead Ned with the winning ticket clutched in his cold hand, two old codgers (Ian Bannen and David Kelly) decide that the relation-free Ned would have certainly wanted a fellow Tully More resident to claim the prize. How the plan is formed, naturally goes awry, and ultimately involves the entire village (with its wide variety of characters, both good-hearted and not-so-good-hearted) is a joy to watch unfold. And, yes this is that movie wherein the elderly David Kelly bares his bony butt to the world while riding a motorcycle (though, it must be noted, he is wearing a helmet). Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)