The Young Offenders is directed by Peter Foott and stars Alex Murphy and Chris Walley as two mischievous boys from Ireland who have aspirations for something bigger than themselves and escaping their current circumstances. When bales of cocaine wash ashore 160km away, the boys hatch a plan to make the trip in hopes of striking it rich. With limited releases throughout 2016, this Irish coming of age comedy received very positive feedback and had enough of a fanbase to continue the series in the form of a television show two years later.
Going into The Young Offenders I had not known what to expect as I knew nothing about its story/premise but after watching it I can gladly say that The Young Offenders is a wonderfully charming film, sure to please anyone. Right from the start, the movie is quite funny and with the added narration by the character Conor MacSweeney it offers funny bits and an avenue to give exposition while showing the audience through action on screen. Largely everything introduced in the film comes up somehow throughout its run time and nothing feels wasted, it's a very tightly packaged film with little to no fat. Every joke mostly hits, the situations the writer put the pair in is clever and offer some great laughs.
The look of the film and acting is also pretty good, nothing amazing but good. That leads me to my next point, is despite all this the movie fails to try anything unique. The story-beats for this type of coming of age film is all very conventional that even through its tight presentation and funny comedy, I don't know if I see myself remembering this film down the line. Nothing about this film is particularly memorable which is a shame, as I wanted to like this movie more than I did, it's still quite good and oozes with charisma however much of it is held back.
In closing, while I did enjoy The Young Offenders quite a bit, its conventional framework and some silly story moments really hold this film back from what could have easily been one of my favourite movies of 2016. Do check out this film though, with a runtime of 83 minutes, The Young Offenders flies by, and with its loveable, dumb characters and humorous plot segments, this film will offer some great laughs. It's a film I did enjoy while watching, however, in retrospect, I just don't see myself remembering it all too well and for that reason, I am giving The Young Offenders a strong 6/10.
Going into The Young Offenders I had not known what to expect as I knew nothing about its story/premise but after watching it I can gladly say that The Young Offenders is a wonderfully charming film, sure to please anyone. Right from the start, the movie is quite funny and with the added narration by the character Conor MacSweeney it offers funny bits and an avenue to give exposition while showing the audience through action on screen. Largely everything introduced in the film comes up somehow throughout its run time and nothing feels wasted, it's a very tightly packaged film with little to no fat. Every joke mostly hits, the situations the writer put the pair in is clever and offer some great laughs.
The look of the film and acting is also pretty good, nothing amazing but good. That leads me to my next point, is despite all this the movie fails to try anything unique. The story-beats for this type of coming of age film is all very conventional that even through its tight presentation and funny comedy, I don't know if I see myself remembering this film down the line. Nothing about this film is particularly memorable which is a shame, as I wanted to like this movie more than I did, it's still quite good and oozes with charisma however much of it is held back.
In closing, while I did enjoy The Young Offenders quite a bit, its conventional framework and some silly story moments really hold this film back from what could have easily been one of my favourite movies of 2016. Do check out this film though, with a runtime of 83 minutes, The Young Offenders flies by, and with its loveable, dumb characters and humorous plot segments, this film will offer some great laughs. It's a film I did enjoy while watching, however, in retrospect, I just don't see myself remembering it all too well and for that reason, I am giving The Young Offenders a strong 6/10.