Being a quarter of a century old and never having fallen in love has given rise to some rather silly "what-if"-ing on my part. In lieu of getting off of my fundament and actually meeting new people, I have a tendency to call up all my old people and say foolish things like "Wouldn't it have been great if I had had a boy best friend who lived next door? We would have grown up together, seen all the ugly parts of each other and our families, and it would be easy as pie for us to fall in love and happily trip the light fantastic forever like they do in 80's pop music."

Okay, I've never really said that. I don't think I've ever really seriously thought that, either. And after watching the Irish flick Disco Pigs, I think I'm going to stick to complete strangers after all.

In General...

Pig(Cillian Murphy) and Runt(the absolutely fantastic Elaine Cassidy) are almost twins. They were born on the same day, minutes apart, in the same hospital. They live on the same street, go to the same school, and see each other every day. They would be brother and sister in every sense of the word--except for the fact that they have different mothers.

In any case, the daring duo have things pretty good within their own world. They speak their own slanguage to each other and really seem to have created their own little insular safezone--which is why is doesn't seem weird when a day in the life of Pig and Runt includes some wildly dichotomous pursuits. One minute they're philosophizing about the sea and their friendship, the next they're holding up the local liquor store in a friendly, juvenily delinquent sort of way. This all goes along fine until Runt's parents decide to ambush her and send her to a residential voc-tech in hopes that she'll learn to live without Pig, and perhaps develop into a proper individual.

Of course, things like that don't happen without event in movies--this happens the morning after Pig discovers(via a truly uncomfortable monologue) that he likes Runt as far more than a sister. He goes on a search to find her, and ultimately--well, I'm not going to tell you what happens. You should rent this movie and see for yourself.

The Good...
Cillian Murphy is one fine, fine Irish man. Elaine Cassidy is one fine, fine Irish woman. Together, they have fabulous chemistry and it's their performances that make this movie a very worthwhile view. Even though Cillian Murphy's wetly grinning Pig is obviously a freaky psychopath, you really feel for him when he wakes up to find Runt gone from their usual routine. When Runt has to adjust to the loneliness and strangeness of being sent to an unfriendly and restrictive school against her will, you feel like you're right there with her, surrounded by new and daunting faces. Having been around extremely codependant relationships all my life, I can say that these two actors hit the nail on the head on their portrayal of this kind of dysfunction.


The Bad...

I had to watch this movie twice in order to figure out what the heck anyone was saying. Not only does everyone speak a very thick Irish English dialect, but the two main characters speak their own version of it. Also, at times I think that the character of Pig is supposed to be a bit schizophrenic--but it's hard to tell around all the other nonsense talk.

In Conclusion...
If you like talky psychological movies and have a good ear for dialect, this movie will be worth your while.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age