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Paul Reiser and Colm Meaney go into cliche mode when an Irish patriarch wills half his legacy to his son’s unknown American cousin

Never mind people. The problem with this comedy is the cliches. It could not be more Irish if it was dropped into a pint of Guinness and rolled in shamrocks by a dancing leprechaun. The script is co-written by the American actor Paul Reiser, with a very broad sense of humour, though it’s likable enough. Colm Meaney is also on decent form as undertaker Ciáran, whose elderly father Fergus (Des Keogh) has a deathbed request: he wants to heal a rift with the American side of the family that has rumbled on for a couple of generations.

Over in New York, Reiser plays American cousin Barry, a real-estate tycoon. He’s recovering from the double whammy of a heart attack and divorce, which puts him...

A film about Ireland, written by an American. We all know it when we see it. There’s the camera now, drifting across the water to a lush green shore. There’s the tinkle of traditional music. Ciáran (Colm Meaney) stands outside his house having a smoke, looking up to see a rainbow forming over the lake. Then abruptly, it starts pissing it down, and one realises that this particular American might understand something about Ireland after all.

He is Paul Reiser, and we’ll see him soon enough, as he not only co-wrote (with Wally Marzano-Lenevich), but he stars in the film, playing Ciáran’s long lost cousin Barry. There’s been a rift in the family, you see, and Ciáran’s miserable old father (Des Keogh), who insists he’s on his deathbed, wants to see it reunited whilst he still can. At his insistence, Ciáran phones Barry and persuades him to visit.

"Sneaky bastard." Let 'em at it! Quiver Distribution has revealed the official US trailer for a comedy from Ireland called The Problem With People, which is a clever title for nowadays because almost everyone is thinking about the many problems with people. This premiered at a few film festivals in late 2023 and will open right away on VOD in the US starting in October this fall. Two distant cousins who've never met - one living in NYC, the other in the smallest town there is in Ireland - come together in Ireland to finally put an end to a generations-long family feud. It doesn't go well... The Problem With People, set in beautifully lush Irish countryside, is a heartwarming comedy about family, world peace... and sheep.