91
Unfolds with such unforced inevitability that absurdity never condescends to sticky adorableness.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
80
Bannen and the gawky Kelly, whose screen chemistry is vital to the film's success, make a delightful pair of stumbling shysters, and Jones' script weaves a sizable tapestry of other characters to flesh out the village.
60
Writer-director Kirk Jones has the movie roll over, fetch and chase its own tail in order to make you love it.
75
San Francisco Examiner by G. Allen Johnson
There's not a whole lot to Waking Ned Devine, but it may be enough for those who like their quirky comedies from the British Isles - a burgeoning genre now - both atmospheric and gentle.
75
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
An unabashed excursion into feel good territory.
60
Chicago Reader by Lisa Alspector
Though it strives for broad humor, pushing cuteness and light irony, this bland 1998 movie isn't exactly a comedy.
50
Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov
Predicated on the slimmest of notions, this debut by Jones is so cuddly-cute in its desire to be pleasing that it's all but transparent.
90
Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan
The plot is far from intricate, but Waking Ned Devine more than makes up for its narrative simplicity with a uniformly engaging cast of Hibernian oddballs.
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Rick Groen
The wonder is that the cast -- a terrific ensemble with talents honed on such hallowed stages as the Abbey Theatre -- brings it off with far more verve than the slight tale deserves.
80
Washington Post by Stephen Hunter
Writer-director Kirk Jones III keeps the movie resolutely brisk and light, twisting mildly this way and that but never detouring for long.