As described by the
Irish Film Institute in their 2019 retrospective of the work of McAdam, the film "captures a strong sense of Dublin in the nineties as a city with a vibrant music, pub and club scene. Music plays a crucial role, with a fine score composed and performed by
Pierce Turner, who plays the lead singer in Martin’s band. (There's also an amusing cameo appearance by
Joe Dolan, singing
Make Me an Island and ''
You're Such a Good Looking Woman'' to the delight of members of The Dead Husbands Club). But the film is no fulsome celebration of great times. As the title itself implies, the game of life has its ups and down, with failures as well as successes. Dublin is now a city of youth, life and colour, says McAdam, but behind that colour the grey past still lingers. We may have moved on in recent years to new-found confidence, but behind that confidence the old basic everyday emotional problems will always be with us."
Variety magazine described the film thus: "a minor, harmless picture that lacks fresh angles or vigorous motivations to tell its tale (which also) suffers from an overinsistent determination to entertain and gratify its viewers at all costs." In Germany, the film was released as
Zwei seriöse Damen in Dublin (Two Serious Ladies in Dublin). ==Funding==