Mickybo and Me (2004) Reviews

• Poignant and funny

  darapkel2005-07-14

  The story is basically that of two young boys in Belfast in the summer of 1970 who come from opposite sides of the sectarian divide. Obsessed with the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, they decide to run away to Australia and leave their problems behind. I've seen this film twice and would happily watch it again. The two young main characters, Jonjo and Mickybo, are wonderfully cast and the story dwells on their friendship and their need to escape their lives rather than being just another film about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The cast is excellent, Adrian Dunbar being a standout as the wastrel father. The film is definitely a crowd pleaser but the story is good enough to avoid being corny or sentimental.

• Excellent Movie

  robmac1102005-05-10

  Great movie, great acting, fantastically filmed. Sums up the paradox of growing up in Belfast in the early seventies, of wanting to just be a normal boy doing the things boys do but having everything else going on around you shaping how you should think. The way the boys dressed and spoke is spot on for the time. Most of the story though could be set anywhere about the two young boys wanting to escape, don't be put off because it has Northern Ireland accents or is locally made. Recommend to anyone, everything from the performances to the script is top class. I'm glad it stayed local and wasn't produced by an American studio who would have wanted to make it into a mushy totally family film. Can't wait to buy it on DVD, does anyone know when the release date is?

• Wonderful!!

  scotland_jewel2005-12-05

  I loved this film! The boys were a delight, I laughed so hard, and must admit I saw a bit of my husband as a child in Mickeybo. I enjoyed the adventures, or rather misadventures, of the boys, and enjoyed watching their characters develop. I am sure we all knew a Mickybo when we were kids, and as mad as we might have thought they were at times, we admired them as wished we could be a bit more like them. As for "treacle-coated ending", as one review said, it was no such thing. I felt it showed that things are not always as they seem and through it all, people can learn to to understand and accept each other. And not before time. I highly recommend this film!

• A truly entertaining and well thought out, sensitive film

  searchit2005-11-01

  I watched this film not knowing what to expect... and it was a great surprise!! The story's two main characters, Mickybo and Jonjo, are terrific actors who surely have great careers ahead of them. They play the parts so well anyone would have trouble not identifying with their vivid imagination, excitement and refreshing naivety when they were their age. I also think writer and director, Terry Loane, has manged to incorporate Ireland's troubled history without making it too much a part of the film so as to spoil what is an excellent story in its own right. I am only disappointed, though, that this film has not made much of an impact in the UK. Especially with tag lines stating that this film comes from the makers of Billy Elliott and starring Julie Walters, Adrian Dunbar, Ciaran Hinds and Gina Mckee, I would have thought this film would have been pushed a lot more, however I am sure you will enjoy the film as much as I did!

• Wonderful movie with a lot of heart

  se7en1872006-06-15

  I saw this at the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, Michigan. Fantastic Irish film, one of the best of the festival. Set in 1970 Northern Ireland, two kids, one Protestant, the other Catholic, bump into each other and quickly become friends. One day, Jonjo and Mickbo go to see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid at the theater and fall in love with the movie. For the rest of the film they become Butch and Sundance and try to escape Northern Ireland and travel to Australia. It's a wonderful movie, the two main actors are so perfect, I had a great time the whole way through the film. It would be nice to see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid before watching the film, just so you can catch all of the inside jokes, but it's not very necessary. I really hope this movie gets noticed in the States, it's a lot of fun and has a lot of heart.