sean_mcnally1978 I don't believe this film should be on anyones "must see" lists for 2006, but I think it is being harsly critiqued.Bottom line:-Paul Mercier did a fine job with the direction. -The principal cast put in sound performances, especially when you consider the material they had to work with. -There was a few laughs.If you want to support independent film...go see it! It is worth spending a few of your hard earned Euros...certainly better than wasting your coin on some trash that cost 100 Million based around a car crash.

adv2011 I have to disagree with the other comments. The film wasn't amazing, the story was simple and probably missed its genre but having had the benefit of reading the original script I lay this blame firmly at the door of the editor. Despite this, it was fairly entertaining, and at least it didn't try to be something it was not, it was a story about a small time team and their drunken manager, it didn't attempt to put them in the FA cup final and it didn't succumb to the traditional happy ending where they win the cup against all odds...On a side note it had a great cast who did well with poorly thought out dialog.I wouldn't buy the DVD, but I didn't regret the time I spent watching the film.

Sub Freq Making a film for under 1 Million might be a triumph for a line producer or an accountant but doesn't do anything for the audience. The balance sheet might have been pretty but the viewing experience was poor.What will be a triumph for Irish Cinema is when people realise that production values and the script can't be sacrificed.I don't understand why people expend the energy it takes to put a film together when the production quality is worse than a low grade TV show.The deficiencies of the plot have been mentioned in another review on this site and I totally agree with what was written. What I would add is that the film skimmed the surface of several genres without ever settling in one of them. The film would have benefited from either going the direction of a straight out comedy or social/political commentary.My overall impression was that the film was rushed, thematically under developed and visually not up to standard. On a positive note the performances and music were very good.

Pierce Conran I managed to see this at what I think was the second screening in the world, a few days after its opening at the Dublin International Film Festival. While I was attending another film two nights later at the same theater, I saw Brendan Gleeson, Paul Mercier and the rest of the cast & crew at another promotional screening of Studs.I have to say that I was bitterly disappointed with the film, I was by no means expecting a masterpiece, but what was presented to me, I believe lacked all the crucial elements of the genre it had set itself into. Before I continue, two things, I accept that some filmmakers like to subvert generic expectations, here this is simply not the case. Secondly, I know that it was based on a play (which I haven't read but have been informed that it isn't a shimmering piece of literature), but this does not excuse the massive narrative problems that permeate the film.My main problem with the film is the script, forget that it was based on a play, as a sports comedy it simply doesn't work, the down and out team are trying to win a football cup, few of the games are shown (when they are, it is very short) and we are not given any satisfaction due to any of their sporting achievements. Having read so far, you might assume that it is not a strict sports film but a psychological study of the relation between a "charlatan" of a manager and his hopeless team. It certainly does not achieve this, I'm not even sure if it was aiming to. Any attempt to shed light on the history of any of the characters is hackneyed and peripheral. Overall, I found the script lacking in many respects.I do think the performances and the music were good and technically, the film was well made. But aside from those points, which should be expected from any Irish film at this stage, I left the theater feeling very disappointed.My judgment may seem harsh but I do think there is some hope for a strong national Irish cinema in the near future and this simply does not back that argument. As Studs has become a recommended Dublin Cineworld film (I was part of the audience at that screening), most people would seem to be disagreeing with me, so that means you should probably make your own judgment of the film.