Snapper, The MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +2 1/2 Content: -3

What will happen to the Curly family when oldest daughter, Sharon (Tina Kellegher), announces she is pregnant? This is the dilemma facing father Dessie (Colm Meaney) and mother Kay (Ruth McCabe) in this BBC film production. To make matters worse, Sharon isn't revealing who the father is. Dessie and Sharon frequent a Dublin pub to drink "a pint" and discuss this ongoing problem with bar mates. But the crisis-a-minute Curly family manages to pull together and support Sharon in their own weird way as she carries her baby to term. This comedic story of a working class Irish family is exceptionally well acted, with thoughtful dialogue.

This film has a special fondness for using "Jesus" for every occasion, along with an appalling amount of crudities and obscenities. THE SNAPPER also brings Americans an abundance of Irish slang sexual innuendos. Also true to stereotypical Irish culture, Sharon and her father drink frequently and think little of drunkenness. The Curly children are in a perpetual state of rebellion against authority as they curse at each other and are disrespectful towards their parents. Meaney nearly steals the show as the harried father trying to cope with his daughter's pregnancy. He holds onto traditional values, but doesn't know why. Sharon recognizes his hypocrisy and disposes of tradition altogether. Sharon's conversations in the pub revolve exclusively around sex. When she confides her pregnancy to her friends, they respond with a triumphal "Well done!" THE SNAPPER is an accurate portrayal of a society lacking both internal restraints and moral foundation. As a result, the Curly children abandon tradition and will most likely follow in Sharon's footsteps.

Preview Reviewer: Krista Kay Bontrager
Distributor: Miramax Films, 375 Greenwich, NY, NY 10013