The Commitments (1989) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

show spoilers

Characters/People edit see section history

• Jimmy Rabbitte: Add a description of this character.
• Derek
• Mickah
• James Brown
• Outspan
• Billy Mooney
• Joey The Lips Fagan
• Natalie
• Imelda
• Bernie
• Dave
• Brother
• James Clifford
• Outspon
• Dean
• Tanya
• Marvin Gaye
• Otis Redding
• Bobby
• Sonya
• Declan Cuffe

Quotes edit see section history

• “- All tha' mushy shite abou' love an' fields an' meetin' mots in supermarkets an' McDonald's is gone, ou' the fuckin' window. It' dishonest, said Jimmy. -It's bourgeois.”

  Jimmy Rabbitte

• “«The Irish are the niggers of Europe, lads». They nearly gasped: it was so true. «An' Dubliners are the niggers of Ireland. The culchies have fuckin' everythin'. An' the northside Dubliners are the niggers o' Dublin. Say it loud, I'm black an' I'm proud».”

  Jimmy Rabbitte

• “The Lord told me to come home. Ed Winchell, a Baptist reverend on Lenox Avenue in Harlem, told me. But The Lord told him to tell me. He said he was watching something on TV about the feuding Brothers in Northern Ireland and the Lord told the Reverend Ed that the Irish Brothers had no soul, that they needed some soul. And pretty fucking quick! Ed told me to go back to Ireland and blow some soul into the Irish Brothers. The Brothers wouldn't be shooting the asses off each other if they had soul.”

  Joey The Lips Fagan

• “<Jazz> it's got no soul. It is sound for the sake of sound. It has no meaning. It's musical wanking, Brother.”

  Joey The Lips Fagan

• “The biggest regret of my life is that i wasn't born black. Charlie Parker was born black. A beautiful, shiny, bluey sort of black. And he could play. He could play alright. But He abused it, he spat on it. He turned his back on his people so he could entertain hip honky brats and intellectuals. Jazz! It's decadent. The Russians were right. They banned it.”

  Joey The Lips Fagan

• “That's jazz, Brother. That's what jazz does. It makes the man selfish.”

  Joey The Lips Fagan

• “«Soul is dynamic. It can't be caught. It can't be chained. They could chain the nigger slaves but they couldn't chain their soul». «Their souls didn't pick the fuckin' cotton though».”

  Jimmy Rabbitte

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• Deco was on a strict soul diet: James Brown, Otis Redding, Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye. James for the growls, Otis for the moans, Smokey for the whines and Marvin for the whole lot put together, Jimmy said.

  Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers

• —Intellectual music, said Joey The Lips. —It’s anti-people music. It’s abstract.

  Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers

• Dean has soul but he’s going to kill it if he listens to jazz. Jazz is for the mind.

  Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Barrytown
• Dublin
• Ireland

First Sentence edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Followed by The Snapper.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Roddy Doyle (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 823.914

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Authors, A-Z › ( D ) › Doyle, Roddy
• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › Irish
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

Movie Connections edit see section history

• The Commitments (1991) (IMDb)