| Director: | Stephen Frears |
| Writer: | Roddy Doyle |
| Director of Photography: | Oliver Stapleton |
| Editor: | Mick Audsley |
| Music: | Eric Clapton |
| Production Designer: | Mark Geraghty |
| Producer: | Lynda Miles |
| Fox Searchlight; R; 105 minutes | |
| Release: | 5/97 |
| Cast: | Colm Meaney, Donal O'Kelly, Ger Ryan and Caroline Rothwell |
| Based on the novel by Roddy Doyle |
The Van is not as sharply observed or as boisterous as the first two installments of Doyle's Barrytown Trilogy, The Commitments and The Snapper, but it is a sincere portrayal of Dublin's working class. When bakery worker Bimbo (O'Kelly) loses his job, he heads to the pub to commiserate with his out-of-work buddies. Bimbo convinces his best friend, Larry (Meaney), to go into business with him. They decide to peddle fried food out of a chipper van and scrape together enough money to buy a grease-infested, broken-down truck. Their timing could not be better. Set in 1990, when Ireland advanced to the World Cup finals, they park the van outside pubs on game nights and make a killing. But the partnership nearly destroys the friendship as Bimbo questions Larry's work ethic. The crud under Larry's fingernails doesn't help Bimbo's confidence.
