Very Cool!!!

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

One of Alan Parker's strengths is capturing young unknown actors performing music. Another is portraying everyday people's stories in an exciting way. And I guess, because they're not big-time actors, the acting in roles in The Commitments has an unforced, fresh appeal. Dublin's grey tones and the locals' dry wit is used to great effect - for example, a drab train is used as an exciting vehicle, for the soul song Destination Anywhere. Parker is good at trusting that the grittiness of each location, be it a shopping mall or a suburban back yard or a chip van, can be lyrical - many Hollywood directors would have to glam it up, and create something artificial. He also is not afraid to show how terribly people can stuff up their own opportunities. Here is an immensely talented and energetic group of young people, yet they throw it away because they can't get along. There is no cute ending, and I really like that. For me the spirit of this film is summed up by the veteran muso character Johnny Murphy's assurance to Jimmy Rabbite towards the end of the film, after the blues band Jimmy founded, The Commitments, has fallen apart due to in-fighting. "You raised their expectations of life!" says Jimmy. He's saying that Jimmy's mad dream - to create a smash hit soul music band from a ragtag band of poor Dubliners - was worth pursuing, even though it failed. Young people - who otherwise would have gone on to be buskers, or bus drivers or be unemployed - now have a whole other world opened up for them. It sounds corny, but that's what music can do. Or if not music, then someone who gets young people involve in a big project, that allows their individual talents to shine.

I remember a lot the year of 1991.Great music,great friends,great trips,great girlfriend,great party's and of course great movies.That's what the year of TERMINATOR 2 but another great movies (now classics some of them) came out:NEW JACK CITY,THE ROCKETEER,JFK,POINT OF BREAK,HOT SHOTS,MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO,THE FISHER KING,DELICATESEN,STAR TREK 6,L.A.STORY and of course THE COMMINTMENTS.This movie is simple magic you can feel the actors go into the character and feel this emotions and more also the direction of PARKER is very good because he have all the freedom to the actors and make they stuff.No big stars are here the BIG STAR here is the music that all the actors really sing and of the great chemistry between them.In a year that great movies came out and the music was awesome THE COMMINTMENTS have a place in 1991.

I think anyone who has ever attempted to organize and direct a group to achieve success in any artistic activity can appreciate this film.The thing I found heart-warming about this story was how a group of white teenagers from Dublin seize upon the idea to study 'Black Soul Music' as their route out of the Irish Ghetto and as a ticket to success. The notion is actually the brainchild of Jimmy Rabbitte, and having directed plays in High School and straight out of Community College, I could easily identify with what he was trying to do. He forms this motley crew of singers and musicians; some of whom can barely stand each other, all of whom can't stand the lead singer Deco Cuffe.Most stories on film will find Blacks emulating the successful actions of White people in order to achieve success in life. Sometimes they would take this too far and to their chagrin receive the censure of their peers for 'trying to act White'. This film was refreshing because you saw white kids intently studying James Brown and Otis Redding and others in order to analyze the dynamics of what makes Soul Music work. All the while with Jimmy Rabbitte exhorting them to "-say it once and say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud!"Quite a stretch for teenagers in Dublin and just when you think they've got it down and the flywheel is finally connected to the engine of their emotions and transmitting force; well, you'll see what I mean. I really enjoyed seeing them practice their lyrics while ironing clothes or practicing their moves while hanging the wash on the line. It reminded me of what it is like for working class people to struggle and claw their way up on the path towards a dream. Many of the claustrophobic interior scenes reminded me of places where I visited friends in the Projects and quite frankly, it was a revelation to me that there were White People who lived in Ghetto conditions too. This gave credence to the tagline, 'They started out with nothing, and were ready to risk it all!'. It also explains why they were even ready to grasp at the straw of 'Soul Music' for a leg up if they could get it. This is the burning desire of the poor person to raise him or herself up by any means and comes across as a universal aspiration.There is also this air of youth blooming into adulthood not quite certain what is out there for them, but ready to explore and try anything. This is the spirit that is the salvation of the Human Race and says, "-let me try this viewpoint on for awhile and see what its value is for me and what I can take from it to create a personal life expression." Between Jimmy Rabbitte's pep talks and his father declaring that Elvis is God and two of the female backup singers berating sexy Imelda Quirke for 'prick-teasing' and Joey 'The Lips' Fagan shagging one of the ladies to Barry White or Isaac Hayes, we're happy to be their running buddies as they stroll the streets and alight from the buses of Dublin into their own version of Soul Music.I found that moment when it seems as though they have risen above the limitations of conflicting personalities and environmental pressures especially elegiac and poignant. There is that moment in the life of many a youth where it seems as though they have grasped the whole world and taken a glimpse of what is possible for them. There is that moment in this film. What was exciting was to see what each of the characters took as a Life Lesson from this particular adventure into Soul Music once the smoke cleared and the dust settled.When Jimmy Rabbitte speaks to the interviewer from the future about his inevitable success while in the bathtub or while washing his hands and looking into the Restroom mirror, I was reminded of my own attempts to sign on the dotted line the contract with myself for triumph.'The Commitments' is a great way to find out what it all means.

Bring a bunch of destitute Dubliners together to form a soul band. Crazy? No, brilliant. Jimmy Rabbitte is the young man with the dream. He's unemployed (who isn't?) but that's OK because he has the idea, the passion that will change everything. Drawing from the down-and-out youth of Dublin he's going to put together the world's greatest band. And he has just one type of music in mind: soul. Does this make any sense? Not to anybody else. But Jimmy's got the vision. And somehow it all begins to come together. His band, The Commitments, is on its way. But it's not a straight ride to the top. There will be struggles and conflicts and life lessons along the way. But the journey is worth it because, despite all the odds stacked against them, it turns out The Commitments are one heck of a band. Playing their wonderful, unique, rockin' Dublin soul.It's a great ensemble cast that makes up this movie's band. Robert Arkins plays Jimmy, the guy who brings it all together. And then the musicians do their thing. Never for a moment do you not buy into these performers as a real band. Their acting is fine but it's the music they play that makes the movie shine. Unlike so many other movies of this type almost all the singing and playing is actually done by the actors themselves. And when The Commitments cut loose this movie rocks. Jimmy Rabbitte might take exception to that. It's not rock, it's soul. Whatever it is it's absolutely bursting with energy. And that is thanks largely to one exceptionally talented young man. While everyone in the band plays their role well there's no way around it, Andrew Strong is the star. Unbelievably just 16 years old when the film was made, Strong plays lead singer Deco Cuffe. And he's got the voice of a singing god with the charisma and star power to match. But there's a problem. Deco is a completely insufferable jerk. Everyone else in the band hates him, and rightly so. Deco may well tear this group apart.The movie follows the band's rise, with all the drama Deco causes threatening a fall before they hit the big time. Which would be a shame because this band is awesome. When first thrown together they understandably make a stuttering start. But once they get their act together they are something to behold. The music they play is fantastic and it makes the movie so much fun. Whether performing a tender ballad or a really rocking number The Commitments hit all the right notes as they run through a soul classics songbook. Try A Little Tenderness and In The Midnight Hour are two obvious highlights but every song really works, not a musical misstep to be found. The music is so great it largely overshadows the rest of the film. The story largely takes a back seat but there are plenty of good moments in between the big musical numbers too. For as good as he is on stage Strong is also excellent portraying the boorish lout Deco offstage as well. Arkins is terrific as band manager Jimmy, holding his band of misfits together. One other standout is Johnny Murphy as Joey 'The Lips' Fagan. He's the wise old hand of the group, a trumpet-playing philosopher who's played with all the greats. Here is a man who appreciates the journey. He also appreciates the opportunity to bed the band's three lovely female backup singers. The band in this movie goes on a magical ride. And lucky us, we get to go along. This movie is a rollicking good time. Dublin soul rocks.