Jimmy Rabbitte, an unemployed Dublin boy, decides to put together a soul band made up entirely of the Irish working class.Jimmy Rabbitte, an unemployed Dublin boy, decides to put together a soul band made up entirely of the Irish working class.Jimmy Rabbitte, an unemployed Dublin boy, decides to put together a soul band made up entirely of the Irish working class.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 11 wins & 12 nominations total
Maria Doyle Kennedy
- Natalie Murphy
- (as Maria Doyle)
Ken McCluskey
- Derek Scully
- (as Kenneth McCluskey)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe kid on the skateboard who appears outside Jimmy's window during the first third of the movie when the band are recruiting members is Peter Rowen, the then boy from the covers of U2's "Boy" (1980) and "War" (1983) albums. At the time this movie was filmed, he owned a skate shop in Dublin and was a champion skateboarder.
- GoofsWhen the photographer tells everyone to say "testicles", only three people move their lips enough to make an audible sound (they are actually mouthing the word "lesbians"), but the sound is as if everyone was saying "testicles" out loud.
- Quotes
Jimmy Rabbitte: Do you not get it, lads? The Irish are the blacks of Europe. And Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland. And the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin. So say it once, say it loud: I'm black and I'm proud.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Commitments: Try a Little Tenderness (1991)
- SoundtracksMustang Sally
Written by Mack Rice
Performed by Andrew Strong, with Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle Kennedy and Bronagh Gallagher
Featured review
I first heard of the Commitments when I heard someone playing the soundtrack on their car radio. I quickly bought myself a copy and played it about 10 times a day - the music and the singing were unlike anything I'd ever heard before, even though all the songs are covers.
It wasn't until about 6 months later that the film was on an obscure cable channel, and I literally got goosebumps as soon as the opening credits rolled with "Treat her right". It was so incredible to actually see the characters performing the songs that I'd grown to love. It all became complete actually seeing the story unfold, and by the end you're really rooting for the band to succeed. When they perform "Try a Little Tenderness" I've never managed to watch that scene without tears in my eyes, it's such a fantastic version of the song and the energy Andrew Strong brings to it is just incredible, especially as he was only 16 at the time.
Anyone who loves music has to see this film, even you're not familiar with soul music - I promise you'll be hooked after seeing The Commitments!
It wasn't until about 6 months later that the film was on an obscure cable channel, and I literally got goosebumps as soon as the opening credits rolled with "Treat her right". It was so incredible to actually see the characters performing the songs that I'd grown to love. It all became complete actually seeing the story unfold, and by the end you're really rooting for the band to succeed. When they perform "Try a Little Tenderness" I've never managed to watch that scene without tears in my eyes, it's such a fantastic version of the song and the energy Andrew Strong brings to it is just incredible, especially as he was only 16 at the time.
Anyone who loves music has to see this film, even you're not familiar with soul music - I promise you'll be hooked after seeing The Commitments!
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Camino a la fama
- Filming locations
- Musical Hall, Ricardo's Snooker Hall - Lower Camden Street, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland(The Band's Rehearsal Room)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $12,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $14,919,570
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $271,333
- Aug 18, 1991
- Gross worldwide
- $14,919,633
- Runtime1 hour 58 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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