Eat the Peach (1986) User Reviews (10)

Ireland in the eighties

[poc-1 · 6/10 · 10 July 2002]

By today's standards this movie doesn't measure up. But when it was released it struck a chord in the Irish psyche. I think it captured a mood at the time, the depression had reached its depth in Ireland, the country was broke and anyone with any ability was leaving for the US or Britain. Here's this guy who loses his job in the local Japanese electronics plant and is stuck out in the bog with no prospects. He decides to "Eat the Peach" or go out and do something outrageous (The title is a quote from A lovesong for J Alfred Prufrock" by T.S.Eliot, which was a stable of the Irish Leaving Cert curriculum at the time) So he decides to build a wall of death for his motorcycle. The story follows his unexpected success and ultimate failure. In a small way the film presages the spirit of optimism and entrepreneurialism that helped to lift Ireland from the darkest days of unemployment and emigration.

Even though there are some embarrassingly bad scenes and characters I still like it.

good for motorcycle fans; see the "wall"

[Walt-11 · 7/10 · 6 March 2002]

I did not find this movie to be the piece of crap that some here thought it was. Of course, then again, I'm not from Ireland and didn't see it through their (perhaps personal) eyes. I found it to be an honest, not stupid, little slice of life story about struggles of life and personal dreams, small though they may be. I surely saw a countryside unlike any in the states. The star, as it should be, is the wall-of-death these guys build. I was pleased that it is a focus here, and is shown a lot. It is shown throughout, as they actually had to build it from the ground up for the movie. It is very real. Watch it flex. It's hard to find an old wall-of-death touring in the US anymore. The riding-the-wall shots are frequent, done well, and show these actors honestly riding. This is refreshing. Compare that to movies about any other action-activity or sport like climbing, racing, football, horses, etc.

Irish Cinema has come a long way

[leadsalad · 1/10 · 14 September 1999]

Oh Dear God! This was on the TV again the other day and it served to remind us just what a truly appalling specimen of film making looks like. It's hard to believe that, back when Irish films were a rarity (and a film not about the IRA even rarer), there was actually a stirring of excitement about this films release.

This film would be quite good were it not for the lame plot, dull characters, and feeble dialogue. Oh and the sets, actors, production, and weather were all a let down as well. How did the great Eamonn Morrissey (and others who deserve better) get caught up in this mess.

The sheer crapness of this film alone was enough to convince people that nothing of any cinematic worth would ever emerge from this island. Thankfully this view has been proved wrong, thanks to visionaries such as Neil Jordan, Jim Sheridan and many others who have given us many great films over the past decade.

However, this film's place in cinematic history should be guaranteed thanks to The Most Spectacular Piece of Miscasting in the History of Film - Niall Toibin (venerable comedian, character actor, and professional Corkonian) demeaning everyone concerned with his hilarious "American Businessman" routine.

Still, it's better than The Courier.

a solid little film

[mickoc · 8/10 · 20 May 2005]

The 'Eat the peach' of the title comes from a poem by T.S. Eliot: 'The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock' and is about doing whatever you want to do and not worrying about what other people think.

There have been worse Irish films inflicted on the world. Especially those dealing with historical figures and events yet unconcerned with accuracy. INTNOTF and (no names) the one which insulted peoples intelligence by, among other anomalies, having booby trapped cars go off in the middle of Dublin castle in 1919 ???????? Hardly visionary.

Eat the peach, on the other hand, is a solid little film. A work of pure imagination. Set in the early eighties it captured the reality of life for a lot of people with a lot of time on their hands and little money in their pockets, a full ten years before the tiger struck, when there were few prospects other than to go abroad. So here you have a film about a guy that wants to do something different and stand out from the crowd.

Both times I saw it I was abroad and as it was filmed in the area I am from (having watched some of it being filmed when I was a kid) there could be an element of bias borne of sentimentality to this review. though, my partner, an Aussie of eclectic taste, also thinks its a good film. And its hard to please her.

Filmed in the same year as another excellent Irish film, 'Lamb', it may not have a big budget but it has a lot of heart and a lot of honesty. The soundtrack is excellent. Hopefully they release it on DVD at some point soon.

It may look a bit bleak but it was filmed during the wettest summer I can remember, 1985. I love the opening scene of the boys tearing about on the bikes across the bog past the peat machines with the uileann pipes on the soundtrack. It may not be the 'Torres del Paine' or 'the Flinders ranges' but it is home.

This should never have been made

[Allie-18 · 1/10 · 19 March 2000]

As an Irish person, I like to catch as many home-made films as possible when they are in the cinema. In the case of this one, I wish I'd stayed home in front of the TV. There's a hackneyed storyline which falls back on every Oirish cliche in the book, cardboard characters and nothing to keep you watching. Stay away my friends.

Oirish, granted, but very clever!

[Peter_Culleton · 10/10 · 20 July 2004]

Admittedly, this film is rather Oirish, but much less so than the acclaimed (and far less clever) Waking Ned. It catches the Hiberno-socio-political situation wonderfully, and so much more originally than the clichéd spud-scarfing-Mick-hick (sorry, that's not politically correct, let's call it tubor-consuming-Michael-the-rustic) stereotype, which so many other films do.

Besides, it's home-made, and if some people are too sensitive about the Irish being laughed at, at least we (I'm Irish) should be able to laugh at ourselves. There are few left who can't laugh at themselves at some level, as the English have taught everyone (witness Monty Python's upper-class twit of the year) that laughing at your own nation's foibles is okay.

Speaking of the English... They are are closest neighbors, and have the best chance of appreciating the film, but of those I know, few of them understood the humour. There are lots of jokes in it that make for only Irish appreciation, for example *** WARNING, PLOT SPOILER *** that the Junior Minister for Justice's brother is a crook, or that wonderful scene where one of the erstwhile republican sympathisers, who were formerly suspicious of our heroes but when the supposed 'bomb' goes off in the countryside, he runs back and, fist in the air, says in the thickest northern Irish accent "I don't know who you are, friend, but I'm proud to t' have met ya'". *** END OF PLOT SPOILER ***.

There are far more subtle examples. I don't know any other film which captures it all so well, so cleverly. And the music by Paul Brady is great!

Someone just please tell me – where does the title come from?!?

To the two who gave it one star

[gigkw · 9/10 · 21 January 2008]

After reading all the comments it seems one either loves this movie or hates it. I loved it enough to buy a copy which, before I had the internet, was no easy chore. The manager of the local Blockbuster managed to find it for me. When a friend wants to see it they watch it at my house. I won't lend it out. To the two who hated it - get a life. No one ever said it's the worlds most important film. It isn't. What it is instead, is an enjoyable little movie about two men who take what life throws at them and make the best of it. It also captures a time when Ireland was losing many of its young men to other countries because of lack of work; a situation that, fortunately, is no longer common.

fantasy and reality intertwined

[a9999999-1 · 9/10 · 7 January 2006]

The film is about two men with a random and frivolous idea, actually if they were to have any respect for the circumstances they were living in it's a stupid idea. Nevertheless they commit themselves to it and in following through on their commitment they find resources of courage and creativity, shining a light back onto a 1980's Ireland so lacking in those traits.

The film doesn't make itself out to be better than the characters, it shares their commitment to the beauty of the idea and to the internal logic and urgency of the project. It's not ironic or snide and the characters aren't made out to be quaint or laughable. There's a space and a gentleness in the way they pass the time (which is one thing they're rich in) with each other and their families.

The reality they're up against is a fairly accurate depiction of the spirit and mood of 1980's Ireland if my memory serves, and the filmmakers somehow managed to get it financed and produced without paying for foreign investment with clichéd scenes for the prejudices of our Anglo-American cousins. I'm amazed that some meddling producer didn't push for a humorous confession scene where the priest turns out to be an expert on motorcycles, or protest that the pub with the bare walls and silent characterless men staring down into their pints didn't look "Irish" enough. Most of the time as Irish people we have to cringe or fast forward through these scenes, but this film has details and in-jokes just for us - the Southfork-inspired house of the local bigwig, the ministerial Merc, the young, dynamic Pat Kenny stepping out of the RTE van.

A great little movie

[ekeow · 8/10 · 3 June 2014]

I saw this on its release in 1986 and really enjoyed. Nothing spectacular just a film on the struggle of 2 men who have been made redundant and decide to do something different. I was a little bit reminded of Eat the Peach when I watched Take Shelter. A bit of stretch maybe but it did remind me. Yesterday I saw footage from 1979 on the real life men who the film was based on and who actually built a Wall of Death in Granard County Longford. It reminded me of the film and I have ordered a copy. I hope it is as good as I remember from all those years ago

Don't expect an Oscar winner but it is hard not to watch and enjoy

Thanks

Perfect in its own time and place.

[kennethkelleher-09006 · 8/10 · 1 December 2016]

In a way, "Eat the Peach" is a classic. The catch is that this film never attempted to pander - or even explain itself - to an international audience. You had to be Irish - and probably rural Irish at that - to understand much of the humour and many of the characters (especially Niall Toibin's "faux returned Yank").

Similarly, the peat industry references and the sub-plot revolving around cross-border smuggling are likely to have been lost on overseas viewers. "Eat the Peach" was made before the Irish film industry had truly found its feet and so, perhaps unintentionally, seemed to have been aimed mostly at domestic movie-goers.

This, IMHO, is why this movie is remembered fondly in Ireland but has never received the international exposure it may otherwise have enjoyed. At heart this is a film about courage and optimism. About pitting one's wits against a hopeless situation. About living as a pawn yet trying to turn the tables on "the man."

And in those terms, "Eat the Peach" is a runaway success. It deserves to become more widely known.