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Filmladen, 21:45 h
Mattress Men

Mattress Men

Paul Kelly (40’s) works one day a week in a run down Dublin city centre mattress shop for his employer Michael Flynn (60’s). In order to boost sales and secure himself a permanent job, Paul reinvents Michael as the eccentric online persona ‘Mattress Mick’. Together they create oddball videos against a ramshackle green screen at the back of the mattress shop and put them up online. When Mattress Mick gets noticed and sales slowly begin to grow, Paul sees an opportunity for permanent employment while Mick sees a chance to make a mint. The pressure on debt riddled Paul to get a real job grows all the time as his partner Kathy and two baby daughters struggle along in a tiny inner city flat. Meanwhile Mick is convinced by his media-savvy old friend Sean Mooney (60’s) to record a song to boost his profile further. Paul and Sean become fierce rivals much to Mick’s annoyance, as they embark on production of an epic music video for Back with a Bang : The Mattress Song As tensions escalate further over the many months it takes to shoot the video, mistrust grows between Paul and Mick as Paul’s requests for a permanent contract are repeatedly ignored. Things unravel for Paul when he is kicked out of the flat by Kathy and then turns to stealing from the mattress shop. On hitting rock bottom all Paul has left is the video he’s been making for Mick. Paul finishes the video and uploads it in all it’s ramshackle glory, resulting in Mattress Mick going global. The international success of Mattress Mick is bittersweet for Paul. Even after Paul makes the cover of The Sunday Business Post alongside Mick he still feels he has lost his family, the only thing that really matters to him. Paul resolves to move on from the mattress shop when Mick then offers Paul the permanent contract he has been seeking from the start. Paul accepts the forgiving gesture and hopes that his partner Kathy will eventually allow him return to the family home.

  • Irland
  • 01:24:00
  • Director: Colm Quinn
  • Production: Ciarán Deeney, David Clarke, Colm Quinn
  • Photography: Colm Quinn
  • Editing: John Murphy
  • Languages: en
  • Subtitles: en
  • Year: 2016