I recently watched The Guard for a second time and was in the mood for another Irish comedy. The Snapper was a poor choice. A twenty year old girl living with her mother, father and four fellow siblings becomes pregnant and will not name the dad. Most of the film takes place in pubs with the expectant mother drinking heavily with three other girls. This is not funny, and I do not understand the 7+ rating on IMDB. Stay away from this noisy mess and instead check out The Guard for Brendan Gleeson's brilliant performance.

A Timeless Classic that puts Dublin humour centre stage! Brilliantly written dialogue that just gets funnier with each viewing. Catch-phrases abound. Acting is superb. Cinematography & lighting excellently gritty. Sentiment perfectly delivered without ever being maudlin' or cheesy. Characterisations are true to life as are the antics and scandal-hungry gossips of Dublin's sprawling housing estates. Andrea Corr appears for a brief moment. Tina Kelleher is wonderful. Joanne Gerrard is hilarious as the obnoxious teenage girl. Colm Meany is adorable as the flummoxed Dad. Brendan Gleeson is effortlessly watchable. Brilliant direction. Memorable Soundtrack. Superb writing. A True cult classic that will never age. My only question is ... why are there no distribution deals for this movie in Ireland!? It can only be bought on Canadian DVD!

I am quite glad to be given the opportunity to warn unsuspecting movie buffs about this truly dreadful movie. I am a working class Dubliner, and let me tell you this is not a slice of Dublin working class life. Nobody I know behaves like the idiots in "The Snapper". Roddy Doyle is a good writer but his monopoly of the Dublin working class mind is dangerously misleading.This movie glorifies all the very worst misconceptions foreigners might have about the Irish. It wallows in the mire of drunkenness, fumbling sex and unplanned pregnancy; and makes a heroine out of a depressingly stupid and careless young woman. Colm Meaney is one of Ireland's best actors but the sight of him sleepwalking his way through this garbage is sad. There is nothing to redeem the plunge into negative apathy this movie represents.

This may be the best of the Roddy Doyle adaptations though"The Commitments" was more popular.The depiction of everyday life in modern urban Ireland is wonderful. The family's reaction to Tina's "predicament" and the ways she copes with family and friends ring true.The only problem I had was adjusting my ear to the regional accent but this is superior acting and storytelling, and Frears direction lets both shine through.8/10