Movie Review: The Boys and Girl from County Clare

Movie #15 The Boys and Girl from County Clare
Category: Drama/Comedy
Rating: B+
Where Seen: Home
Reason for Viewing: Sounded good; felt like a visit back to County Clare and listening to some Irish music
Movie from: Netflix
Setting: 1970s Ireland
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Brothers, long estranged, meet up after many years at an Irish music festival. Each tries to thwart the others chances at success. There is a romance between Anne, the young fiddle player from the one brother’s band and one of the members of the feuding brother’s band. A romance that is frowned upon by Anne’s mother who has raised her on her own after the disappearance of Anne’s father – a mystery which will also be solved during the movie.
COMMENTS: This was quite an enjoyable movie. The music was great and the setting one of particular interest – although I did find that it was not filmed in County Clare at all but Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man! The movie was produced by Ellen Little whose company was involved with two other favorites of mine, The Secret of Roan Inish and the Waking of Ned Devine and this movie does have some of the flavor of the latter to it. I am a fan of small independent movies – sweet movies that have not had a huge box office success and are more likely to be told of through word of mouth than a trailer on TV or at the movies. I admit that this one caught my eye because of the title and I do recommend it to those who like similar films. If you’re looking for a big blockbuster with a lot of action, you won’t find it here. But if you want a story of relationships and some good Irish music, I recommend you give this one a try.

Book Review: But Enough About Me

BUT ENOUGH ABOUT ME: How a Suburban Jersey Girl Got Behind the VelvetRope Through Shameless Flattery, Disturbingly Meticulous Research, and a Few Other Tricks
By Jancee Dunn
Rating – A
Began: April 7, 2006
Finished: April 11, 2006
Genre/Date Published/# Pages – Memoir – June 2006 – 288 pages
Characters: Jancee Dunn, writer for Rolling Stone, former correspondent for Good Morning America, and former veejay for MTV2, her family and friends.
Setting: New Jersey and Manhattan (primarily)
Where Did Book Come From: Bought from eBay
Reason for Reading: Heard about it and it sounded good, found an ARC on eBay for $2.

BRIEF SUMMARY: Jancee Dunn grew up in a middle-class neighborhood, the eldest of three daughters. During her senior year in college she attends a party and meets a woman who is a writer for Rolling Stone magazine and decided to put in her resume. To her great surprise, she is offeredthe job of an editorial assistant and is soon doing interviewsherself. The book is written in alternating chapters – with a chapter of Dunn's clever tips for interviewing a celebrity and the next chapter telling of her early childhood growing up and/or anecdotes of her life interviewing the rich and famous.

MY COMMENTS:I loved this book! While Dunn is from a different generation, being amusic fan, I still was familiar with most of the celebrities she interviewed including Bono, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, and DollyParton. One of my favorite stories though was how she posed as Ben Affleck's girlfriend shortly after his breakup with Jennifer Lopez, just to "prove a point" about the paparazzi and then was seen in thetabloids as the "mystery woman". After not being able to finish a book in either February or March, I was thrilled to essentially read this book in two days. Whether it was the subject matter, Dunn's easy-going style, or my mood, I am thankful for it and perhaps now I will be able to get into the reading mode again.