gremlinsfromthekremlin Beautifully filmed with quaint Irish seaside views. SPOILERS: A delightful film in which the fish are out of water in their own pond. The men in a small Irish village cannot see their own perfect mates right before their eyes. It takes both the promise and threat of exotic newcomers coming to the village to make the men realize that what they wanted was right there in front of them whole time. A pleasant mix of character archetypes coupled with familiar independent UK tropes blend into a witty cocktail that will have you smiling throughout the film. A fun and charming film with plenty of character that will satisfy your yearning for quirky and wonderful couples themes. This is a great date movie.

johnnymonsarrat I'm an action movie buff, so mostly I like films that blow up. I like comedies too, but I expect a fast pace and not too much arty melodrama. "The Closer You Get" (called "American Women" in the USA) is an amusing and somewhat slow-paced Irish comedy that I found an acceptable crossover film to rent with my SO, who doesn't like action films. The plot wraps up satisfyingly.Like many Irish films I've seen, it's charming and has plenty of small town culture. I would, however, recommend "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain" (which is really Welsch), or "The Full Monty" first, which are similar but better.I'll give "The Closer You Get" a ho-hum but not exactly bad 5 out of 10.

kalle-11 This is a thoroughly enjoyable film from start to finish. There are enough comedic set-pieces to keep even the most hardened cynics happy. Detractors will of course level criticism at the simplistic plot and at some of the loosely sketched out characters, however as a piece of entertaining madness it totally delivers. Special praise has to be given to Sean McDonagh and Ian Hart who create between them one of the most realistic and hilarious drunken scenes ever seen on film. Recommended.

daver-4 ...to be portrayed in these quaint comedies as eccentric small town dreamers. It worked in Hear My Song (still the Irish comedy that rules in my book), The Commitments (OK, that was not set in a small town, but you get the point). Waking Ned Devine was pleasant but familiar and slight. And now The Closer You Get, which rehashes all of the "silly Irish people" elements and combines it with an idea straight out of The Full Monty (a British film about middle aged men deciding to do a strip tease to boost their morale). The message of The Full Monty was be youself and be happy with what you have. A point that The Closer You Get hammers into its viewers. I cannot actively dislike any Irish film, because even if you have a trite story and underdeveloped characters, you can always look at the scenery! I guess if we want hard-edged Irish films, we have to continue to seek out Neil Jordan's movies. I was disappointed.