REading some of the other comments here I get but kinda confusing.

I thought it wove together a story about life and the chances we have and what we do with those chances. You got to see it from about 7 or 8 different perspectives. Yes the main story was about the friendship but it had this ripple effect that was true to life in a way most movies can't do smoothly.

• You have the guy who wants life to be more than what it is.
• That same guy has been struggling with depression and doesn't know what to do about it.
• The kid who knows more about life than he thinks but succumbs to it just the same.
• The sister who doesn't seem to have ever loved but wants something for herself but is scared to pursue it because she feels obligated to take care of her brother.
• The regular guy who just simply carries on in life not assessing anything until something forces him to look up.

There are so many Archetypes of people and mini-stories about life in this movie I don't see how you couldn't find something enjoyable about it. I know nothing about Irish conflict I think the movie would still work even if set in another country. You don't need the background of Irish civil war for it to be a good story. Truly it's just a funny story that exposes a ton of angles and nuances of life.