if chris farley had strapped some fake mutton - chop sideburns to each side of his head , spoken with a thick irish accent , and tried his damnedest to play it straight , he would n't have been nearly as funny as brendan gleeson in
" i went down .
" gleeson , who 's not dissimilar to the late " saturday night live " alumnus in terms of physical attributes , plays a character named bunny kelly in this delightful irish film .
bunny is sent to county cork to " retrieve " one frank grogan for an irish gangster called tom french ( well dressed like all good gangsters should be and menacingly portrayed by tony doyle ) .
bunny is to accompany git hynes ( peter mcdonald ) , recently released from prison and obligated to tom for disfiguring one of his cronies .
that tom french is a mean bollocks .
he wants frank back .
and a small matter of some ?
25 , 000 that tom 's wife was supposed to have given to frank .
for this he wo n't break anyone 's thumbs .
maybe . inventively and engagingly written by conor mcpherson and directed by paddy breathnach , " i went down
" follows the trials and tribulations of git and bunny as they knock around peat bogs , dimly - lit pubs , and seedy hostelries trying to stay alive and out of trouble .
mcdonald is a newcomer and a promising
one at that , but gleeson has been in over a dozen movies , most recently as father bubbles in another film with a very irish accent on hilarity , " the butcher boy .
"
even if you ca n't comprehend half of what they 're saying , gleeson and mcdonald together make " i went down
" a trip worth taking .
the film is in many ways reminiscent of another " little " independent feature , 1991 's " highway 61 .
" that film , too , was a road movie and it shares the same kind of wry dialogue and humorous situations
as mcpherson 's tale : whimsical observations on life , carefully - crafted vignettes , deadpan conversational asides , and scenes that 'll make you laugh out loud
.
witness the episode in which our good - natured protagonists bind frank ( played by peter caffrey ) to a hotel bed , leaving him with only the tv remote for company .
that sequence alone is on a par with satan locking himself out of his car in " highway 61 .
"
what 's also charming about
" i went down " is how the relationship between buddy and git develops .
their trip becomes an education for both of them , but the way it 's handled is neither sappy nor labored .
the only thing in the film which approaches clunkiness is the culminating explanation , via flashbacks , of the relationship between frank and tom .
it 's a little too hollywood , and what makes " i went down
" so refreshing is the fact that it rarely panders to traditional conventions of hollywood gangster movies .
sure it 's gritty -- make that grubby --
but it 's also pretty goofy .
although " i went down " emphasizes the comedic elements of dis - organized crime , there are a couple of fairly brutal scenes in keeping with the subject matter .
do n't let these deter you , though ; " i went down " is a little gem .
it 's only playing at one philadelphia - area theater -- and i suspect it wo n't be there for long --
so catch it while you can .
charming a trip worth taking so refreshing wry dialogue and humorous situations inventively and engagingly written laugh out loud promising a little gem