Fran the Man review – Irish football-coach mockumentary gets the fans onside
Fran (Darragh Humphreys) is an assistant manager to an underdog football team who have unexpectedly drawn a very good side for a big match. Can he get his boys to where they need to be to deliver a memorable upset? It's a fairly classic sporting comedy premise, though probably the first time it plays out in an Irish setting. That setting is one of the better things about an otherwise somewhat lacklustre film: the location footage feels authentic and lived-in, in a way the plot doesn't, though said plot might matter less if the characters were given a bit more room to charm and entertain.
Perhaps this is one of those films where you have to be in on the original joke to enjoy it. Based on the football mockumentary series Fran, which ran for a couple of years from 2009 in Ireland, this expanded version doesn't feel like essential viewing, but presumably diehard fans of the series will be keen to see more of the character. It doesn't seem all that likely to cross over to a broader crowd, however, with wildly variable and sometimes rather flat acting doing little to welcome newer audiences to the fold. There is also a fairly ropey plot about Interpol investigating match fixing against the backdrop of preparations for a David v Goliath football match which does not exactly prove suspenseful.
The mockumentary format is a mixed blessing: it offers a useful storytelling shortcut whereby characters can explain their motivations to camera in talking heads sequences, potentially offering a fun contrast with their candid actions or reactions, but unlike classics of the genre such as Parks and Recreation or The Office, there's not enough comic tension between how characters present when they're trying to craft their own narrative and when they are less conscious of the camera. There are also moments that strain credibility such as the camera crew's continued permission to film, but then that is something that almost always happens in mock docs. A willing suspension of disbelief never really kicks in here – perhaps due to a shortage of good gags, leaving the actors at sea. One for Fran's fans only.
Fran the Man is in Irish and Northern Irish cinemas from 11 April.
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