# Closer You Get, The (2000)

### reviewed by
Steve Rhodes

    THE CLOSER YOU GET
    A film review by Steve Rhodes
    Copyright 2000 Steve Rhodes
    RATING (0 TO ****):  **

The blarney's back in Aileen Ritchie's Irish comedy, THE CLOSER YOU GET. With accents as thick as the dark Irish brew that they drink, the men in a remote town in the northwest Irish county of Donegal lust for some real women, believing the locals are not worth their time. Actually, neither the men nor the women of the village look exactly like prizes.

In an attempt to get an answer to their dreams, the single men put an advertisement in the Miami Herald to lure some American women "in the age range of 20 to 21." After that they wait daily at the bus stop for the loads of women to arrive. Needless to say -- you guessed it -- they don't show up.

Meanwhile, the women outsmart the men by going after their own foreigners -- a group of Spanish fishermen who are already in town.

Typical of the town's inhabitants is Kieran (Ian Hart), it's alcoholic butcher. Kieran, who constantly scratches his crotch while conversing with women, thinks that all he needs to do is bleach his hair blonde in order to be irresistible to the American women soon to arrive. Described in voice-over as a man with "the constitution of an ox and the wits to match," he has the social graces of a farm animal. And he is the leader of the local bachelors.

The village priest (Risteard Cooper) kind of likes the idea of the ad. As one of the parishioners points out to him, he has performed lots of funerals but not a single marriage. He assures the men that he knows the wedding ceremony.

The admittedly good-spirited story rambles like a guy telling a long joke that doesn't have a punch line. As you watch the film, you're likely to feel that you've seen it all before but that it was better last time.

The predictable message of the movie is straight from the WIZARD OF OZ: "There's no place like home."

THE CLOSER YOU GET runs 1:30. It is rated PG-13 for brief language and some sexual material and would be fine for kids around 10 and up.

Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com

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