Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

This is one of my family's all-time favorites, and I am so happy it Finally made it to DVD. Adrian Dunbar is fantastic as the slippery concert promoter who drags cheap acts into his Liverpool club. Possibly Tara Fitzgerald's best role. Ned Beatty makes a wonderful Irish tenor, although clearly lip-syncing. (Original Josef Locke CDs still available for those who want the real thing, more than adequately provisioned with hearts and flowers.) Maybe the reason I love this movie SO much are the supporting actors, from Dunbar's two tubby bouncer/idea-men, to Locke's original English back-up band, to his incomparable Irish cronies: Favorite line-"Sure, I'd rather be in jail, than in love again!"

I don't think Peter Chelsom's appreciation will grow much today, with audiences and critics more inclined to pyrotechnics, flamboyant styles and cynic approach to mankind's troubles. Chelsom is a skilled filmmaker, but for today's tastes his cinema seems too close to the audience's soft hearts, and that is probably his less attractive trait. I like a few of his movies: "The Mighty", "Serendipity" as predictable as it is, and my favorites "Funny Bones" and "Hear My Song" which he also wrote. Both deal with a search and possess a frenetic and funny approach to human foibles, and in this case an enthusiastic leading character, as played by Adrian Dunbar who also co-wrote. He is a nightclub administrator who keeps cheating on his patrons, bringing mediocre artists to perform. When he brings a fake tenor who humiliates his future mother-in-law (Shirley-Ann Field, who had an affair with the real tenor), he embarks on the almost impossible: finding the real singer, who cannot step on Irish soil due to tax evasion. Ned Beatty gives the performance of his life (and that's a lot to say) as the singer, leading the story to a moving conclusion.

A shady liverpool concert promoter, Adrian Dunbar, goes to Ireland to find and bring back an elusive tenor, Ned Beatty, who is wanted by the law for tax evasion, in order to restore his reputation and win back his girl. This romantic comedy is so charming I am surprised anyone could dislike it. Director Peter Chelson does an wonderful job. He displays a real feel for the characters, and the small details which give the film its sense of authenticity. The leading actors are excellent, particularly Ned Beatty, who gives the performance of his career, but they have to compete with a host of colorful minor characters. Give it a look. You shant be disappointed.

A great film with a lot of little great, random touches. I've watched this film many times, and always find it both funny and strange. Definitely worth renting.