Jimmy Rabbitte, an unemployed Dublin boy, decides to put together a soul band made up entirely of the Irish working class.Jimmy Rabbitte, an unemployed Dublin boy, decides to put together a soul band made up entirely of the Irish working class.Jimmy Rabbitte, an unemployed Dublin boy, decides to put together a soul band made up entirely of the Irish working class.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 11 wins & 12 nominations total
Maria Doyle Kennedy
- Natalie Murphy
- (as Maria Doyle)
Ken McCluskey
- Derek Scully
- (as Kenneth McCluskey)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe kid on the skateboard who appears outside Jimmy's window during the first third of the movie when the band are recruiting members is Peter Rowen, the then boy from the covers of U2's "Boy" (1980) and "War" (1983) albums. At the time this movie was filmed, he owned a skate shop in Dublin and was a champion skateboarder.
- GoofsWhen the photographer tells everyone to say "testicles", only three people move their lips enough to make an audible sound (they are actually mouthing the word "lesbians"), but the sound is as if everyone was saying "testicles" out loud.
- Quotes
Jimmy Rabbitte: Do you not get it, lads? The Irish are the blacks of Europe. And Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland. And the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin. So say it once, say it loud: I'm black and I'm proud.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Commitments: Try a Little Tenderness (1991)
- SoundtracksMustang Sally
Written by Mack Rice
Performed by Andrew Strong, with Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle Kennedy and Bronagh Gallagher
Featured review
My one line summary consists of the most profound statement in the movie. "Jimmy "The Lips" Fagin telling "Brother Rabbitte" what he has achieved, when Jimmy thinks he has achieved "Nuttin'".That being said, I am overjoyed at the amount of people giving their wonderful comments about my favorite movie of all time.I can't tell you all the people I've turned on to this movie. I remember I didn't see the movie when it first came out, then they came out with some god-awful TV series kinda based on the movie (Americanized, of course),which,thank god, met a quick & merciful death. I bought the VHS version, then the Laserdisc version, then the DVD, and am now awaiting the 2 disc special DVD, just released, to come in the mail.I have watched this film countless times & never get tired of it. I've even pretty much deciphered the dialogue(try reading the book sometime,if you think the movie is hard to understand!)One of my most prized possessions is a "Commitments" Promotional kit consisting of a "Making of" tape and a booklet about the movie in a photo-illustrated 6x15 box that I bought from a long-closed video store about 10 yrs ago. I also found the ellusive "Commitments Vol.2" CD in a "cut-out" bin about the same time.Anyway,I love the movie, and the whole premise of taking a bunch of unknown,talented, singers & musicians,with pretty much no hope of rising above their surroundings individually,and put them together to form "The Hardest Working Band in Show Business".To me, the highlight & peak of the band(and movie) was when they played "Try a Little Tenderness". It still gives me goosebumps & brings a mist to my eyes,whenever I see it.I'm still in love with Natalie & Imelda!! And Deco(Andrew Strong) only being 16yrs old!!I always hoped there would be a "Part 2", but as Joey said to Jimmy(after the band broke up) "The success of the band was irrelevent.You raised their expectations of life, you lifted their horizons. Sure, we could have been successful, & made albums & stuff, but that would have been predictable. This way...it's poetry". What a wonderful philosophy. That whole scene will never leave my mind.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Camino a la fama
- Filming locations
- Musical Hall, Ricardo's Snooker Hall - Lower Camden Street, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland(The Band's Rehearsal Room)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $12,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $14,919,570
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $271,333
- Aug 18, 1991
- Gross worldwide
- $14,919,633
- Runtime1 hour 58 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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