The Honeymooners
Actors: Conor Mullen, Briana Corrigan, Jonathan Byrne, Justine Mitchell
Release Date: Monday 30th November -0001
Running time: 86 minutes
Slight but affable, The Honeymooners is an Irish made comedy, which rarely troubles unpredictability, but moves with some charm. David (Byrne) is jilted at the alter and decides to go on an epic bender. Meanwhile, it's Claire's (Reid) birthday, but she has a falling out with her married lover and manages to get herself fired. One chance meeting with a rather drunk David later and he's convinced her to drive him to a Donegal hideaway where he wants to get his head together in peace.
Although never ground breaking, quite a bit of promise is shown by first time writer-director Karl Golden. The basic tenant - opposites attracting in extreme situations - may have been airbrushed a thousand times before, but there's a real sense of charm about the two central characters, with two well judged and nuanced performances from Alex Reid and Jonathan Byrne. Both of their characters have bite - neither tries too hard to be particularly likeable to the other, fearing potential rejection and further heartache, which is well articulated by both actors. The style of The Honeymooners is a little too roughly hewn - although skilful, the digital, vaguely edgy, camera approach does grate somewhat - and the situations are little too convenient to make the film anything beyond pleasantly diverting.
