WHEN BRENDAN MET TRUDY / (2001) *** (out of four)
By Blake French:
Romantic comedies all too often fall into likely taboos of cliché and recycled material, therefore it is a pleasant surprise when such a movie comes along that defies convention. "When Brendan Met Trudy," fresh and mostly interesting, is that movie, kind of like "When Harry Met Sally" except with less charm, originality and likable characters. The film, written by Robert Doyle (of the Irish comedies "The Commitments," "The Snapper" and "The Van"), still works, though, and contains many scenes that are likely to remind you of scenes from other classic movies, but that is intentional. It uses the success of past romantic comedies to liven up the screen; the more movie references to other movies you recognize, the more likely you are to enjoy "When Brendan Met Trudy." Even if you are unfamiliar with such content, however, it still tickles us with its peculiar sense of humor.
The movie's hero is Brendan (Peter McDonald), a teacher and movie lover living in Dublin, Ireland. He meets a wild young woman named Trudy (Flora Montgomery), a Montessori teacher, at a local pub. They sense charisma within each other, therefore agree to meet again. Trudy pulls this mild-mannered, gentle, gullible everyday man into her wild world where they go to parities where he sings and the observers pass joints, visit the local grocery store, meet up with a Nigerian Refugee named Edgar, and they have lustrous sex. For the first time in a long time, Brendan is having a lot of fun.
Brendan soon conjectures that Trudy is a psychopath; on the news, he watches as the reporters indicate of a person dressed in black who slices off men's genitals in the middle of the night. Brendan becomes suspicious when Trudy shows up with a black mask on one night, and often slips out during late hours, returning early the next morning. (spoiler ahead) Trudy turns out to be only a professional thief, using the teacher profession as a cover-up, and invites Brendan to go with her during a heist, and he actually enjoys the unpredictable life of crime. The relationship comes to a halt when Brendan introduces Trudy to his family. Will they get back together, or will Brendan and Trudy go their separate ways?
Kieron J. Walsh, the film's director, proclaims he fought long and hard for the two lead actors (Peter McDonald and Flora Montgomery), and it was a fight worthy of his time. Peter McDonald, previously appearing both on stage and in movies like the Irish comedy "I Went Down," creates a consistent personality for his character and does not change it throughout the movie.
Flora Montgomery, winner of the 1998 Irish Theatre Best Actress Award for her performances in "Miss Julie," portrays Trudy with the perfect amount of obscure quirkiness, confidence, and domination over Brendan. Under seemingly precise direction and a demanding and occasionally lacking script, these two actors, supported by Marie Mullen, Pauline McLynn, and Don Wycherley, really carry "When Brendan Met Trudy" to success. The script is not strong enough to achieve much of anything here. Consequently, the casting of Peter McDonald and Flora Montgomery may have been even more important than Kieron J. Walsh realized at the time.
By Blake French:
Romantic comedies all too often fall into likely taboos of cliché and recycled material, therefore it is a pleasant surprise when such a movie comes along that defies convention. "When Brendan Met Trudy," fresh and mostly interesting, is that movie, kind of like "When Harry Met Sally" except with less charm, originality and likable characters. The film, written by Robert Doyle (of the Irish comedies "The Commitments," "The Snapper" and "The Van"), still works, though, and contains many scenes that are likely to remind you of scenes from other classic movies, but that is intentional. It uses the success of past romantic comedies to liven up the screen; the more movie references to other movies you recognize, the more likely you are to enjoy "When Brendan Met Trudy." Even if you are unfamiliar with such content, however, it still tickles us with its peculiar sense of humor.
The movie's hero is Brendan (Peter McDonald), a teacher and movie lover living in Dublin, Ireland. He meets a wild young woman named Trudy (Flora Montgomery), a Montessori teacher, at a local pub. They sense charisma within each other, therefore agree to meet again. Trudy pulls this mild-mannered, gentle, gullible everyday man into her wild world where they go to parities where he sings and the observers pass joints, visit the local grocery store, meet up with a Nigerian Refugee named Edgar, and they have lustrous sex. For the first time in a long time, Brendan is having a lot of fun.
Brendan soon conjectures that Trudy is a psychopath; on the news, he watches as the reporters indicate of a person dressed in black who slices off men's genitals in the middle of the night. Brendan becomes suspicious when Trudy shows up with a black mask on one night, and often slips out during late hours, returning early the next morning. (spoiler ahead) Trudy turns out to be only a professional thief, using the teacher profession as a cover-up, and invites Brendan to go with her during a heist, and he actually enjoys the unpredictable life of crime. The relationship comes to a halt when Brendan introduces Trudy to his family. Will they get back together, or will Brendan and Trudy go their separate ways?
Kieron J. Walsh, the film's director, proclaims he fought long and hard for the two lead actors (Peter McDonald and Flora Montgomery), and it was a fight worthy of his time. Peter McDonald, previously appearing both on stage and in movies like the Irish comedy "I Went Down," creates a consistent personality for his character and does not change it throughout the movie.
Flora Montgomery, winner of the 1998 Irish Theatre Best Actress Award for her performances in "Miss Julie," portrays Trudy with the perfect amount of obscure quirkiness, confidence, and domination over Brendan. Under seemingly precise direction and a demanding and occasionally lacking script, these two actors, supported by Marie Mullen, Pauline McLynn, and Don Wycherley, really carry "When Brendan Met Trudy" to success. The script is not strong enough to achieve much of anything here. Consequently, the casting of Peter McDonald and Flora Montgomery may have been even more important than Kieron J. Walsh realized at the time.