The Van

"A comedy about friends, family and fish."

1996 1h 40m EN

😐

6.4

MID

🥫

42%

ROTTEN

⭐

6.7

IMDB

★6.4TMDB · 76🥫42%Rotten Tomatoes★6.7IMDB · 5,087

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a working-class quarter of Dublin, 'Bimbo' Reeves gets laid off from his job and, with his redundancy payout, buys a van and sells fish and chips with his buddy, Larry. Due to Ireland's surprising success at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, their business starts off well, but the relationship between the two friends soon becomes strained as Bimbo behaves more like a typical boss.

“A comedy about friends, family and fish.”

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Cast

Colm Meaney
Larry
Donal O'Kelly
'Bimbo'
Ger Ryan
Maggie
Caroline Rothwell
Mary
Neilí Conroy
Diane
Rúaidhrí Conroy
Kevin
Brendan O'Carroll
Weslie
Stuart Dunne
Sam

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stephen Frears
Writers: Roddy Doyle
Languages: English
Countries: Ireland, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Ireland, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Part of the "The Barrytown Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Stephen Frears, shot by Oliver Stapleton. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Eric Clapton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mick Audsley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Colm Meaney and Donal O'Kelly and Ger Ryan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A comedy about friends, family and fish.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stephen Frears directs. Oliver Stapleton behind the camera. Eric Clapton scores. Mick Audsley cuts. Produced in Ireland, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

130 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 2 countries: Ireland, United Kingdom.
3Part of the "The Barrytown Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Stephen Frears, shot by Oliver Stapleton. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Eric Clapton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Mick Audsley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Colm Meaney and Donal O'Kelly and Ger Ryan carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A comedy about friends, family and fish.".
9IMDB entry: tt0118064 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 76 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Oliver Stapleton
Original score: Eric Clapton
Editing: Mick Audsley
Stunt coordinator: Patrick Condren
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Status: Released
Box office: $712,095
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Van (1996)
Rotten Tomatoes: 42% 🥫 Rotten
IMDB rating: 6.7/10 · 5,087 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

1 nomination total

Part of

The Barrytown Trilogy

The Barrytown Trilogy is an Irish comedy-drama media franchise centered on the Rabbittes, a working-class family from Barrytown, Dublin. It began in 1988 when Beacon Pictures and 20th Century Fox bought the rights to the 1987 novel The Commitments by Roddy Doyle shortly after it was published. The book was successful, as was Alan Parker's 1991 film adaptation. The film received cult status and is regarded as one of the best Irish films ever made. In 1999, the British Film Institute ranked the film at number 38 on its list of the "100 best British films of the century", based on votes from 1,000 leading figures of the film industry. A sequel novel, The Snapper, was published in 1990, followed by a film adaptation in 1993. A third novel, The Van, was published and shortlisted for the 1991 Booker Prize, followed by a film adaptation in 1996.