SHOOTING FISH (Fox Searchlight - 1998) Starring Dan Futterman, Stuart Townsend, Kate Beckinsale Screenplay by Stefan Schwartz, Richard Holmes Produced by Richard Holmes, Glynis Murray Directed by Stefan Schwartz Running time: 109 minutes
**1/2 (out of four stars)
Alternate Rating: C+
Note: Some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers. Be forewarned.
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What *is* it about Burt Bacharach these days? His banal, decades-old handiwork seems to be invading contemporary cinema at an alarming rate for some reason or another. We had a plethora of Bacharach tunes used in memorable fashion by P.J. Hogan in MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING, and ol' Burt himself even made a cameo appearance in Jay Roach's supremely silly AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY. So, after a successful 1997 run in the United Kingdom, here comes Stefan Schwartz's zany comedy SHOOTING FISH, serving as yet another homage to Bacharach -- the soundtrack is dominated by his music, the film's protagonists have a jukebox shrine to the popmeister in their bizarro home, and there's even an impromptu spirited rendition of "Do You Know The Way To San Jose?" I don't know what Mr. Bacharach is up to, but whatever it is, it's working.
Meanwhile, SHOOTING FISH is an effervescent comic romp with charm to spare which finally spins out of control in its third act. The film's protagonists are the young team of sleek, smooth-talking Dylan (Dan Futterman) and awkward technical wizard Jez (Stuart Townsend), along with their new temp Georgie (Kate Beckinsale), and after an amusing prologue which depicts Dylan and Jez's innate characteristics as fully formed while mere little tykes growing up in respective orphanages, we open to find Dylan in a boardroom confidently demonstrating a new voice-recognition capable computer to an impressed business executive. Claiming that the machine has a vocabulary of 80 000 words (this figure is upped on successive pitches), Dylan astonishes his potential customers by conversationally speaking to the computer, which politely responds in turn. (The machine physically resembles a TRS-80, enabled with an appropriately tinny, HAL-like speaking voice). It doesn't take long it to sink in that Dylan and Jez are con artists (as for the talking computer, visualize the *most* silly way in which this feat can be pulled off), and soon the trio are gleefully fleeing the office complex to the safety of their parked vehicle, advance payment cheques in hand.
The two young men are scammers, all right, but they're likeable, relatively harmless ones that consider themselves present-day Robin Hoods ("Thin fish", Jez whispers to Dylan when a potential target turns out to be an elderly lady that can ill-afford to be ripped-off; they respectfully retreat.) As for Georgie, she's initially not sure what to make of all of this, but after she's reassured that the proceeds of their spoils are going to orphans (a claim which isn't *entirely* inaccurate), she agrees to along with their exploits.
SHOOTING FISH subsequently rockets through their series of misdeeds, and therein lies the principal weakness of the film. It barrels along at such a breakneck pace that it's often a struggle to keep up with the developing plot. There are points, particularly in the film's latter half, where one is left so dizzied by the frantically energetic plot zinging by that it becomes increasingly difficult to attempt to piece things together. While the film has some very amusing elements, its wicked pacing leaves much to be desired; the primary narrative is maintained, but minor elements are often not immediately clear upon first consumption, to the detriment of the comedy.
This is an unabashedly silly, light-hearted film, but it does occasionally run out of palatable comic ideas -- you know that when you're resorting to old inflatable doll sight gags, you're scraping the bottom of the barrel. Still, the madcap hijinx of our heroes are generally droll and inventive, and the film has a sort of breezy and whimsical feel to it that helps to quash a more cynical perspective of the proceedings.
Predictably, SHOOTING FISH is compelled to throw a love triangle into the mix, and a subplot deals with both Dylan and Jez vying for Georgie's affections. While Dylan's the more photogenic and suave of the pair, Jez's feelings for Georgie are more genuine and heartfelt; it's no surprise whom Georgie ultimately sides with. (Besides, the come-on line employed when Georgie's taken on a date to a nightclub isn't typically a successful one.) The courtship's all played out well enough, and the characters are likeable, but there's no real resonance in the relationship; it's rather unengaging.
What drives this film are the winning performances by its appealing trio of actors. Mr. Futterman, with an assured manner and mischievous gleam in his eye, demonstrates good leading man potential, while Mr. Townsend is quite sympathetic as the awkward, soft-spoken Jez. And Ms. Beckinsale, who positively exudes star qualities, successfully breaks type as a period piece mainstay in delightful fashion; lively and high-spirited, she's remarkably captivating. SHOOTING FISH benefits tremendously from its impressive young cast.
While its comedy is somewhat hit-and-miss and all of its elements don't satisfactorily gel in the final act, SHOOTING FISH is an irreverent little comedy that makes for an often pleasing lark. The film's gags aren't exactly sophisticated, but with its simplistic, innocent comic outlook lies much of its charm.
- Alex Fung
email: aw220@freenet.carleton.ca
web : http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/
-- Alex Fung (aw220@freenet.carleton.ca) | http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/ "Unlike you, I'm tolerant of weirdness." - Jennifer Jason Leigh, CROOKED HEARTS
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