Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Best movie ever!

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

A young man struggles to grow up with principles as his family begins to self-destruct around him in this coming of age drama. Cole McKay (Michael Angarano) is a boy in his middle-teens growing up in an Irish-Catholic family in Boston. While Cole has dreams of playing major league baseball some day, his parents Desmond (Brendan Gleeson) and Margaret (Melissa Leo) are blind to his ambitions, and his older brother Terry (Tom Guiry) is a petty criminal who is unwittingly drawing Cole into his orbit. While Margaret is obsessed with projecting an image that the McKay family are happy and God-fearing folk, Desmond has been sinking deeper into depression ever since he lost his job, and his marriage is slowly but surely falling apart. The family's pride takes a body blow when Cole's teenage sister Kathleen (Emily Van Camp) discovers she's pregnant, but Cole decides it's time he took on some adult responsibilities, and gets himself a part-time job at a restaurant. Black Irish was the first directorial effort for screenwriter Brad Gann.

Is this a baseball movie? Maybe. But if it isn't it certainly is a gut wrenching, laugh out loud, sob and sniffle, slice of life pic that is just magic from beginning to end movie. Simply put, this is one of the best movies that you have never heard of, and in today's age of instant gratification, that is remarkable.I have already told you more than what I knew about this movie before I rented it, and that's saying too much. Trust me. If this has piqued your curiosity, then RUN, do not walk, to your nearest video rental store and bring home a copy. You'll thank me for it. What a pleasant surprise it was. 8 out of 10

IN the past few years we have had plenty of south Boston films, and then there are the big ones: the departed and gone baby gone. And now black irish.The departed focused on the criminal and violent element, then gone baby gone was focused more one the police and physcological element. And black irish is now the south Boston family story. The performances are beyond exceptional but the stand out is Michael Angarano. I haven't seen him in anything but i knew who he was. But he blew me away with the emotional depth and range he portrayed. One of the things that surprised me was the lack of profanity and violence. Don't get me wrong there is cursing and a little bit of violence but nothing like the departed and gone baby gone. I think any fan of the other South Boston movies should see this, but even if you didn't like those others you should see this. Truly amazing.

Black Irish is a view on the lives of a family over a period of some months. They struggle with each other over recognition, understanding, love, but always seem to fail. It could be any family, anywhere, with some bad luck. I wanted to give it a 10, but i rate too many 1's and 10's and so i try to think of reasons for deduction when i find something really good. So i came up with that this one deserves a 9 because there is no 'obvious' moralistic lesson in it. Then again, moral is subjective, so passing on this maybe i should give it extra credit, but i cant give an 11. Its just a family with bad luck.The acting of the non-celebrities is great, the story takes you into their lives, their hurt and leaves you wondering of your own family and all that ever happened.What is great about this one is that we are used to pick a bad guy, or woman, that you can put all the blame on. Hollywood usually helps steering you in doing so, but this time not. And that is more real than the designated bad man. One moment you think its the father being the bad man, then the mother, then the brother, or sister, but in the end they all do their little thing and just have or had bad luck. There is no bad man. No one is really to blame.And that is pretty insightful, yet difficult to understand, so i don't think a young audience would appreciate this movie. Its not a movie you walk away from with a smile on your face. Hence the title...Go see it.