A Bump Along The Way
Cert: 15A; Now showing
Brash, bawdy and boozy, Pamela (Bronagh Gallagher) is having a right old time of it out on the tiles in Derry.
Her taste for hedonism is not going down so well at home, mind you.
Life with her uppity, opinionated teenage daughter Allegra (Lola Petticrew) is not exactly rosy, and is then put under further strain when the 44-year-old bakery worker finds herself with a sweet little bun of her own in the oven after a drunken roadside romp with a younger man.
Given that there is now a surprise baba about to enter the fray, Pamela and Allegra need to find a way to co-exist under the same roof and make more room in their lives not only for each other, but for the new arrival as well.
With Allegra’s father largely out of the picture (but sticking his nose in where it’s not needed, of course), the only real support forthcoming from outside the household is from neighbour and best pal Sinead (Mary Moulds) and Pamela’s colleagues down at the bakery.
As the big day approaches, the difficult mother-daughter relationship gets a rather touching makeover as the pair come to see the bigger picture.
Maybe Allegra might begin to roll her eyes a little less. Perhaps Pamela will hold off on mortifying the teenage girl so much. They just might get through this.
Produced by Gallagher’s sister Louise and put together with a sturdy, salt-of-the-earth charm by Scottish director Shelly Love (making her feature debut), this Galway Fleadh winner (for Best Irish First Feature) is a dotty and delightful blend of chalk-andcheese comedy and maternal drama.
At the heart of it all are Gallagher and Petticrew, together hitting a very authentic register on screen. The pair duel and duet with aplomb, striking those cutand-thrust tones that only family members seem to be able to deliver to one another.
Writer Tess McGowan was heavily pregnant herself when she penned the screenplay and her closeness to the material is indeed palpable. She leaves ample room for a bit of heartache and sweetness between the huffing and puffing and carry-on, and it is this that makes all the difference.