The Lads

Three naive young friends find themselves owing money to dangerous criminals.

Paul (Hennessy), Fionn (Hanlon) and Adams (Scott) are long-time friends who live in Ireland. Paul is doing well at his job, while Scott dislikes his and Fionn is a burglar. During one of his break-ins, Fionn steals a large sum of money, which he spends with his two friends. Unfortunately, that money belonged to some very nasty people who threaten to kill the three of them if they do not give them their money back quick. Now in a desperate situation, the three friends decide that the only way to find the money would be to illegally.

This crime dark comedy was filmed on a very low budget and over the course of approximately eighteen months, with the cast and crew consisting of individuals who wanted to help and the result is an amusing film filled with criminal activities, awkward situations and beatings.

Following an introduction to the lives of the three friends and their situations, things kick off with the arrival of the menacing gangsters, forcing the trio to become criminals themselves and not successful ones either. They attempt several clumsy muggings and decide to break into the house of Paul's boss (Gorman), where they believe there is a safe full of money. The most humorous moments occur when the three guys try to commit crimes. They make countless mistakes and do not take the situations seriously, resulting in disasters.

The acting is OK and Hennessy, Hanlon and Adams are entertaining as trying-to-be-crooks and Gorman is also good at being amusing.

Although this is a comedy, the violence is quite graphic during the beatings and it might upset some viewers.

Adams directs well and there are some wonderful aerial shots. The film also gains from interesting music.

This feature points out the value of friendship and support and fans of crime comedies will most likely enjoy it because of the dark humour, the intriguing plot and the performances.