Roscommon native Chris O’Dowd’s latest film ‘The Sapphires’ has received glowing reviews after being screened at Cannes Film Festival, and has even been dubbed the Australian version of ‘Dreamgirls’ by some reviewers.

Simon Gallagher, for FilmSchoolRejects.com described the film as an “Aboriginal Dreamgirls.” The film focuses on the girl-group The Sapphires, who break free from their “discriminative” communities to play as a musical act for US troops in Vietnam.

In the film, Chris O’Dowd plays the bands Irish manager. His role follows up on a year’s worth of strong performances in last summer’s ‘Bridesmaids’ and ‘Friends with Kids.’

“In terms of acting, Chris O’Dowd stands out as the best of the bunch,” said Gallagher for FilmSchoolRejects, “effusing charisma and offering genuine laughs as the group’s Irish manager, unceremoniously stealing scenes from his female co-stars throughout and again hinting at the promise he will bring to Hollywood once he has more projects under his belt.”

The reviews from The Hollywood Reporter about O’Dowd’s run in ‘The Sapphires’ were equally as pleasing: “Following his endearing turn in Bridesmaids, Chris O’Dowd asserts himself as one of the most effortlessly funny actors working today, his pliant, Mr. Congeniality demeanor yielding and snapping like an elastic band in his banter with Mailman’s firebrand.”

Although, it isn’t all too surprising that ‘The Sapphires’ is being met with such praise at Cannes. It was announced recently that Hollywood heavy hitter Harvey Weinstein picked up the film for distribution. Last year, Weinstein did the same with ‘The Artist,’ which went on to be highly acclaimed and win several Oscars. Could ‘The Sapphires’ be the next big hit film?

Here's the trailer for "The Sapphires":