Raucously funny and winningly played, this is the best Irish comedy since Sing Street.
Despite its convenient Hollywood ending, The Young Offenders remains defiantly home-grown, grass roots cinema; and is all the more enjoyable for it.
Some of the plotting (especially in the scenes involving the club-footed drug dealer with the nail gun) seems on the random side. The film, though, has the feel of a ruder, coarser, Irish version of Huckleberry Finn.
The story itself is slight and runs out of steam long before the arrival of a nailgun-wielding drug dealer but the script sparkles and Murphy and Walley are stars in the making as small-time crooks and big-time charmers.
An incredibly enjoyable experience that never falters in keeping you invested.
Two hapless Irish teenagers fall victim to criminal ambition in a perfectly pitched comic-drama.
Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow from Friday January 13, 2017, until Thursday January 19, 2017. More info: http://www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre/
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