The Luck of the Irish (2001 film)

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The Luck of the Irish is a 2001 Disney Channel Original Movie. It has been shown in reruns each March on the Disney Channel around St. Patrick's Day.

Plot

Kyle Johnson (Ryan Merriman) is a popular basketball player in junior high school who is known for being lucky. He is always finding money on the street, so he doesn't have to bring lunch money; he never misses a shot when playing basketball; and when he hasn't finished his social studies test, he guesses on all the answers, only to have them be all correct.

As Heritage Day approaches, where each of the students talks about their heritage, Kyle questions his family about their heritage but his questions are rebuffed with his parents citing themselves as Americans. One day he visits an Irish carnival where he finds that he can't stop step dancing along with the Irish folk music. He is knocked down by one of the carnys, who secretly swaps the gold coin Kyle wears around his neck for a fake one. The next day, he has the unluckiest day of his life. He loses his lunch money, his home brought lunch spills all over him, he can't find his homework, and he misses every shot at the basketball game. The anger of the school towards Kyle's missed shots is evident as a student (Jason Stamm) walks by Kyle the next day and scowls at him. Over the next few days, Kyle's mother begins cooking breakfast in the fireplace and speaking with a heavy Irish accent. Strange things also start to happen to Kyle: his ears become pointed, his hair starts turning red, and he starts to become shorter. During science class Kyle realizes his coin was stolen when the fake coin is attracted to a magnet.

At home Kyle's mother, who has shrunk to twelve inches high, reveals that she is of Irish heritage and a leprechaun, and that Kyle is half-leprechaun. The gold coin he wore was a magic coin which, when in the possession of the youngest family member, allows all the leprechauns in the family to pass as normal human beings and brings good luck to them. Kyle also finds out that he has a 200-year-old grandpa, who's the one who invented potato chips and in a feud with his mother for marrying his father.

Kyle, his family, and his friends chase after a fear dearg named Seamus who stole the coin. Taking advantage of Seamus inability to resist a bet, Kyle challenges him to sports; however, Seamus chooses Irish sports, which Kyle has no idea how to perform. While playing against each other, Seamus reveals that he has stolen from numerous leprechauns in an effort to become "king of the leprechauns". They end with a tie, and Seamus refusing to honor the bet: as he bet that if Kyle beat him at sports and that a tie does not count. This results with Kyle challenging Seamus without his lucky coin to a game of basketball; if Seamus loses, he'll have to live in the land of his father's forever and should Kyle lose he will be enslaved to Seamus. They end up at the game Kyle is supposed to have been playing, with Seamus magically appearing as one of the opposing players. Kyle wins, with Seamus thinking he's going back to Ireland; he thought Kyle said the land of his forefathers'. Unfortunately, Kyle tricked him like Seamus tricked him, telling him that his father is from Cleveland, Ohio; Seamus shrinks back to his normal size and is rocketing into Lake Erie. The film ultimately ends with Kyle explaining his heritage to his school and how proud he is of it and ultimately performs an Irish step dance.

Cast

• Ryan Merriman - Kyle Johnson
• Henry Gibson - Reilly O'Reilly
• Alexis Lopez - Bonnie Lopez
• Marita Geraghty - Kate O'Reilly Johnson/Kate Smith
• Timothy Omundson - Seamus McTiernan
• Jason Stamm - Student #1
• Charles Halford - McDermot
• Thurl Bailey - Mr. Holloway

Trivia

• Outdoor scenes, like suburbs where Kyle lives were filmed in Northern Utah.
• The dancers at the carnival were local girls from Irish dance studios around Utah.
• The carnival scenes were shot at Lagoon, in Farmington, Utah.

External links

• The Luck of the Irish at IMDb