Considering how naturally his novels adapt to the screen, it is surprising that it has taken Roddy Doyle, the Booker prize-winning Irish novelist so long to write an original screenplay.

The wait, however, has been well worth it. 'When Brendan Met Trudy' is unmistakably Doyle, an appealing acerbic romantic comedy with liberal doses of pop culture and media satire thrown in. Adeptly realised by first-time director Kieron J. Walsh, the film is a departure from the gritty urban realism that characterises Doyle's Barrytown trilogy.

Brendan, in an hilarious deadpan portrayal by Peter McDonald, is a fussy, boring choir member and film buff. Trudy, played by a vivacious and compelling Flora Montgomery, pretends to be a Montessori school teacher and picks him up in a bar. After being stood up on their first date to see a foreign film, Brendan tracks Trudy down and is led on a wild ride through her Dublin ﾗ parties with Nigerian refugees, work days spent in bed, and late-night escapades burgling homes and a miniature village from a country theme park!

Throughout the film, there are many homages to other movies such as the opening scene with Brendan face-down in a gutter doing a voiceover from Billy Widler's 'Sunset Boulevard' . In a fabulous sendup of 'A Bout de Souffle' , Brendan and Trudy stroll down a Dublin avenue. Trudy is wearing a New York Herald Tribune T-shirt and Brendan is in a fedora ﾗ chatting to each other in French until Trudy decides to steal a computer from an open car and the action is propelled back to Dublin and reality.

Although his cinematic references span much of the last century, Doyle's focus on the refugee situation in Ireland and its recent booming economy place the film in a contemporary Dublin. The singing of the great Irish tenor John McCormack, the heavy rain and the green countryside add the traditional elements to this universal, clever and most enjoyable film.

G12 will be screening the film and Roddy Doyle will take part in a reading and discussions after it. Tickets are £5 (£3.50 concessions) and are available from the G12 box office on 0141 330 5522 or by contacting boxoffice@gilmorehillg12.co.uk

Media Relations Office (media@gla.ac.uk)

First published: 30 April 2003