4 of 4

Side Dishes
If you haven't encountered the writing of Roddy Doyle, you should. Try Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha, for starters. Doyle has a gift for calamitous humor and for giving his characters unforgettable voices, flaws, and triumphs. You may have met him already — at the movies. He's the man behind such cinematic Irish stories as The Commitments, The Van, and The Snapper.

The latest big-screen Doyle story is a romantic comedy called When Brendan Met Trudy, which is now enjoying a limited release through the acclaimed independent film program The Shooting Gallery. It is drawing mixed reactions, but consistently better reviews than the other films released this week. The critics all refer to Brendan's frequent allusions to other films, which stem from the main character's love of the movies. Roger Ebert writes, "The more movie references you recognize the more you're likely to enjoy When Brendan Met Trudy, but the movie works whether you identify the scenes or not. It has that unwound Roddy Doyle humor; the laughs don't hit you over the head, but tickle you behind the knee." But Dove's Phil Boatwright expresses a conflict of enjoying the movie and having difficulty with certain behaviors of its characters. "Unfortunately, like so many Irish films that spotlight blue-collar working stiffs, it has an air of crudeness. Cursing is second nature to each of them. And sex is not the extension of romantic ardor, but merely a biological function as mundane as defecating."

Boatwright's comments raise an interesting question. How should we respond when a good story is peppered with dialogue or behavior that we find abrasive or offensive? Roddy Doyle's characters frequently demonstrate crass behavior and use foul language. But his stories are often tales of hard-working people overcoming dilemmas with humor, teamwork, and love. And his work usually has an authenticity about it, a sense that he has truly been there and lived with these people, which is reinforced by the rough character of his descriptions, both on the page and in the movies. He may not be condoning such behavior so much as honestly representing an environment and a people that he loves and wants to share with us. It can be good practice for us not to ignore but to have patience with the immediate offensive behaviors of such characters. That way we might discern why they are the way they are, and what the heart of their story might be. If we're easily offended, we can miss glimmers of grace. Developing such discernment might then translate to the way we view our neighbors, so that we might interact with them, help them, and perhaps even learn from them, in spite of their flaws. We might learn to be "in but not of the world."

Next week: We'll look at critical responses to The Dish, Enemy at the Gates, Memento, and more.

Jeffrey Overstreet is on the board of Promontory Artists Association, a non-profit organization based in Seattle, which provides community, resources, and encouragement for Christian artists. He edits an artists' magazine (The Crossing), publishes frequent film and music reviews on his Web site (Looking Closer), and is at work on a series of novels. His work has also appeared in Christianity and the Arts magazine.

Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

first page |  4 of 4

share this page

March (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45