History Film / WakingNedDevine

* SecondaryTitleCharacter: Ned Devine plays a role within the story however the real protagonists are Jackie and Michael.

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: The film gives this vibe about the titluar Ned Devine.

* VerbingNouny

Jackie O'Shea (Ian Bannen) is a middle-aged man living in the rural Irish town of Tullymore with his wife, Annie (Fionnula Flanagan). When they discover that someone local has won the lottery, they team up with Jackie's friend Michael (David Kelly) to figure out which of their neighbors is soon to be much wealthier. The lucky man is the titular Ned Devine (Jimmy Keogh), who died from the shock of seeing the winning numbers. After speaking to Ned in a dream, Jackie decides to pretend to be Ned to collect their winnings. Needless to say, HilarityEnsues once the lottery man arrives earlier than expected and Michael has to play Ned instead.

* WhatTheHellHero: When they find out how enormous the win is, Annie tells Jackie that she can't forgive getting Michael involved in a fraud that could send him to prison for the rest of his life. She relents when he

* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Young Maurice, who reassures the young priest he's done a good job, summons seals by whistling, and accurately guesses that all the lotto winnings will be spent down the pub.

''Waking Ned Devine'' is a 1998 comedy set in rural Ireland, but filmed on the Isle of Man.

Jackie O'Shea is a middle-aged man living in the rural Irish town of Tullymore with his wife, Annie. When they discover that someone local has won the lottery, they team up with Jackie's friend Michael to figure out which of their neighbors is soon to be much wealthier. The lucky man is the titular Ned Devine, who died from the shock of seeing the winning numbers. After speaking to Ned in a dream, Jackie decides to pretend to be Ned to collect their winnings. Needless to say, HilarityEnsues once the lottery man arrives earlier than expected and Michael has to play Ned instead.

* ManipulativeBitch: Lizzy threatens to report the fraud. Not because she cares about the fraud itself, but because she wants 10% of the winnings instead of the 2% she'd get if she split it evenly with everyone else.

-->'''Jackie:''' He had his faults...

* CaliforniaDoubling: The movie was filmed on the Isle of Mann.

* JerkAss: Pat, Finn's romantic rival, is smug and sniping.

-->'''Jackie:''' I'll admit he had his faults...

* DecemberDecemberRomance: "Kitty" has a bit of a sweet spot for Michael O'Sullivan and insists on his having dinner with her as part of her agreeing to sign on to their scheme.

* PowerTrio: Jackie, Michael, and Annie.

* WillNotTellALie: According to Annie, Michael "never told a lie in his life" before having to impersonate Ned.

* GilliganCut: When Maurice says that the winnings will be spent at Fitzgerald's, the priest laughs at the idea of seven million being spent down the pub. The scene cuts to the entire village crowding the bar--and then when Sullivan demands to know who's paying for all of it, ''everyone'' begins clamoring for the tab.

-->'''Sullivan:''' I never thought I'd see the day!

* GilliganCut: When Maurice says that the winnings will be spent at Sullivan's, the priest laughs at the idea of seven million being spent down the pub. The scene cuts to the entire village crowding the bar--and then when Sullivan demands to know who's paying for all of it, ''everyone'' begins clamoring for the tab.

* CutawayGag: When one townsperson comes to Jackie and Michael about cashing the cheque, he asks if they expect Kitty in the post office to cash it. We see Kitty singing randomly to herself before cutting back.

* KickTheDog: Every last one of Lizzy's scenes.

* FakeIrish: Jackie is played by Scottish actor Ian Bannen.

* DreamSequence: Jackie has a dream in which Ned Devine visits him and gives him his blessing.

There's also LoveTriangle amongst the residents who are closer to 30 years old than to 60 years old, and the two apparently youngest characters take a scene or two to talk about God and provide commentary on events.

* BittersweetEnding: Well, [[spoiler:it's mostly a HappyEnding, but the main characters ends with a toast to the dead man who made it possible]].

* MeaningfulFuneral: Ned's funeral is one of the few things not played for laughs. When the lotto man arrives, Jackie's eulogy makes the funeral meaningful in a whole new way. [[TheFunInFuneral The humour comes back when everyone leaves the church]].

* AttendingYourOwnFuneral
* BittersweetEnding (though it's a borderline HappyEnding)
* BlackComedy - Most notably Jackie and Micheal dealing with Ned's body and the car accident late in the movie.
* BurnTheWitch - Played with: when Lizzy Quinn (oft called "the witch") refuses to play along, Michael claims that the town will burn her, as ominous music begins the background. Cut to a man lighting a match just outside her gate and looking threatening. Perhaps five seconds later, the music changes to a lighthearted tune, and it's revealed that the man is the first of a group of villagers bearing gifts to sway Lizzy to their side.
* [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Gun]] - the payphone on the road out of town and the imminent return of the original minister are both important elements of the resolution. Additionally, the lotto man's hay fever has a small role to play late in the movie.
* CrazyCatLady - Lizzy Quinn is a rather unsympathetic case
* DiesWideOpen - Ned's eyes are of the "completely open" variety when Jackie finds his body. Jackie doesn't actually bother closing them.
* DisappearedDad - Only Maggie knows who Maurice's father is; as a result, Maurice has never had a proper father figure, though Finn wants the responsibility.
* FakeIrish - Jackie is played by Scottish actor Ian Bannen.
* KickTheDog - Every last one of Lizzy's scenes
* LukeIAmYourFather - Maggie won't tell Finn if he's Maurice's father. At the end of the movie, she finally tells Jackie that the father is [[spoiler: Ned Devine]].
* MaintainTheLie - Initially only Jackie has to pretend that Michael is actually Ned, but eventually the whole town has to play along.
* ManipulativeBitch - Lizzy threatens to report the fraud. Not because she cares about the fraud itself, but because she wants 10% of the winnings instead of the 2% she'd get if she split it evenly with everyone else.
* MayDecemberRomance - In the backstory. [[spoiler:Ned Devine is Maurice's father]].
* MeaningfulFuneral - Ned's funeral is one of the few things not played for laughs. When the lotto man arrives, Jackie's eulogy makes the funeral meaningful in a whole new way. [[TheFunInFuneral The humour comes back when everyone leaves the church]].
* NakedPeopleAreFunny - Naked old men swimming? Not funny. Naked old man on a motorbike trying to beat the lottery man to Ned's cottage so he can impersonate Ned? Very funny.
* ObfuscatingDisability
* PetTheDog - [[spoiler:Maurice being Ned Devine's son, he and Maggie would be Ned's legal heirs and therefore entitled to the entire lottery winnings. But Maggie decides Maurice needs a father more than he needs a fortune, so she keeps the truth to herself and marries Finn.]]
* PosthumousCharacter - Ned Devine, who we learn about primarily through Jackie's dream and [[spoiler: Maggie's]] final lines.
* PowerTrio - Jackie, Michael, and Annie.
* TheSmartGuy - Dennis Fitzgerald, who repairs household appliances, realizes that Jackie can't deposit the check for Ned's winnings, and figures out how to get the money anyway.
* TalkingInYourDreams - Jackie seems to have a conversation with Ned's spirit in a dream after Jackie finds the winning lotto ticket.
* ThirdLineSomeWaiting - The lottery plot is the focus of the story, but the LoveTriangle between Finn, Maggie, and Pat also takes a considerable portion of the time. Maurice and the replacement priest occasionally discuss matters on their own, but their talks never further the plot in any way and never get the attention of the other two subplots.

* MayDecemberRomance

* MeaningfulFuneral - Ned's funeral is one of the few things not played for laughs. When the lotto man arrives, Jackie's eulogy makes the funeral meaningful in a whole new way. [[TheFunInFuneral The humor comes back when everyone leaves the church]].