When Brendan Met Trudy review

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With Irish comedies The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van, author Roddy Doyle's film pedigree is assured. He went against type with a serious period novel, A Star Called Henry, but changed pace with a screenplay "that didn't involve a lot of research". The result is a drab romantic comedy that even lacks the imagination to come up with its own title.

It's hard to warm to Dublin teacher Brendan (Peter McDonald) - movie buff, church choir baritone, lonely bachelor - or feisty blonde Trudy (Flora Montgomery). If opposites attract, physics and movie conventions demand personal magnetism - but as a love story, this just doesn't ring true.

Painted in shades of brown, it fades away like a safe Sunday night in front of the telly.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

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