It seems like it could’ve been filmed on a Hollywood sound stage (apparently it was filmed in England; either way, not Ireland) and it’s a very poor reflection of actual, modern-day Irish culture (the technological heart of Europe) and of course starts out with a pitiful media depiction of African Americans. The accents are rubbish because they couldn’t be bothered to hire any actual Irish talent.

The premise is silly. A bankrupt Irish village raffles off its pub in a worldwide poetry contest — Eddie Griffin’s submission of plagiarized rap lyrics about freedom is interpreted broadly in a “long-suffering Ireland” sort of sense, and they deem him a long-lost son of Erin. Somehow he arrives in “Ballywood” and the fish-out-of-water situational comedy begins. Cultures clash, the locals have to accept that a (gasp) black man has become owner of their prized pub, meanwhile the town is threatened with the prospect of being turned into a Leprechaunland by developers (it’s funny that they fight against the cartoon stereotype of the Irish while making an entire movie based upon roughly the same thing).

That being said, there are some cute moments, and some plays-on-words that made me burst out laughing (“bloods and crisps, boys and their hoods, gangsters with their Dirty-Harry guns selling that crack-caine stuff, drive aways and people popping each others asses”), and a few of the characters are given the opportunity to play beyond stereotypes and reveal the humanity of their characters.

Anyway I suppose it’s possible to enjoy this movie if you don’t take it too seriously, but I wouldn’t actually recommend it to anyone.