Bobbie's Girl

Okay - not a bad movie, but two major exceptions:

1. (Unfortunately) Lesbianism is still very underground in Ireland, and even more so in a suburban/rural town like Bray - so it's unlikely that that part of the story would have flown. And even more so the wedding at the end of the movie.

2. I grew up in the town this was filmed in, and went to school in Dublin. I met a total of one Jewish person over 21 years. There just aren't any! Ireland is 99% Catholic, although Bray is known to have a large population of Protestants, many from the North. But Jews? Sorry, no.

So, I came to the conclusion that the writer/producer Samuel Berstein (obviously Jewish, but obviously not lesbian!) just took his generic story and transplanted it to Bray. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to see another film set in Ireland, but a bit of reality needs to be tempered in these cases - maybe that was offset by the American/English characters, but even then the English Jewish population is pretty small, too (except in the movie business...) For the record, I am anti-racism and pro-equality (& reality)

I expected a Made-for-TV-type movie here, but got a much richer and far more touching story. A little boy is taken in by two women in Ireland when his parents die - and one of the women soon finds she has breast cancer. She isn't exactly naturally maternal to begin with, and having to deal with breast cancer makes her even less able to make the child feel loved.

The story doesn't attempt to make saints of anyone, and as such it feels very realistic. Thomas Sangster as the little boy puts in a marvelous performance that makes the film the most moving portrayal of a child since Britain's "Hollow Reed." It is a beautiful film about responsibility, life and death which anyone can relate to.

The quality that makes this movie such a joy to watch are the relationships between the primary characters. The relationship between Bailey and Bobbie "feels" real. Both Ward and Peters convey the familiarity of long established relationships. A tacit acceptance of the good qualities and foibles that all couples deal with in each other.

I had never seen Sangster in any films before this. I was deeply impressed with the abilities of an actor so young to convey complex feelings without words. Dread and hope expressed side by side. His attempts to bond with his aunt and Bailey are artfully portrayed, with just enough success and frustration to feel genuine.

As the uncle, Jonathan Silverman provides a balanced portrayal of self effacing humor and sensitivity. In the character of Uncle David Allen is able to see that other ways of living that are completely alien to his very proper British up bringing.

A warm and hopeful film. It's characters, their relationships, and the personal growth that occurs in each of them make it a genuine joy to watch.

Some how I seemed to have missed this film and was not certain if I was going to like the theme of this story. It did not take me very long before I was spellbound with each character in the film and my heart went out to the young boy and the threat of breast cancer and the great warm and lovely love between two same sex gals. Bernadette Peters,(Bailey Lewis)," Snow Days",'99, gave an outstanding performance along with Rachel Ward,(Roberta Langham),"The Ascent",'94. Bailey & Roberta were madly in love with each other and their co-worker Jewish friends made quite a combination of team players. The background and photography in Ireland was a perfect location. If you love someone very very deeply, don't miss out on the opportunity of sharing your entire life with them. Great Story About LOVE!

While Bernadette Peters and Rachel Ward did a good job of playing a couple that is suddenly presented with a 10 your old child, while dealing with other crisis. The boy who plays Allan stole this movie, he was so adorable and convincing, he is going to be a great actor someday. Watch this movie if only to see his performance, you will not be disappointed.