Waiting for Dublin

"Waiting For Dublin" is a modest, unassuming little charmer set in the peaceful Irish countryside just a few months prior to the end of World War II (Ireland being a "neutral" country in the conflict). Mike (Andrew Keegan) is an American fighter pilot whose plane goes off course, stranding him and his British co-pilot, "Twickers" (Hugh O'Connor), in a village just chock full of lovable eccentrics and cranks, brimming over with thick brogues and quaint, old-fashioned country ways. Mike is also one "kill" shy of the five he needs to officially become a flying ace and to win the $10,000 bet he inadvertently made with Al Capone's nephew back in the States right before heading off to war. The opportunity for achieving that goal comes in the form of a German flyer who finds himself stuck in the same town. Now all Mike has to do is to somehow convince the affable chap to let him shoot him out of the sky so the American can claim his fifth victim and win both his title and his wager.

With cleverness and wit and more than a touch of the customary blarney, "Waiting For Dublin" doesn't add up to very much in the end, but the truth is it really doesn't care that it doesn't - and, quite frankly, neither do we. For its greatest charm lies in its not trying to be anything more than just a pleasantly innocuous, no-sweat-no-strain kind of offbeat diversion. And at that it succeeds very well - even if it does go off the rails a bit towards the end. Pleasant performances, lovely cinematography, and a fine sense of atmosphere are just icing on the cake.

It's not a movie you're likely to remember much about years after having seen it, but it makes for enjoyable enough viewing while you're at it.