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Review by Steve Rhodes
2 stars out of 4
leads, a reviewer feels a certain undeniable guilt when he doesn't care
much for it. Moreover, when you have a picture that has nothing wrong
with it, just not enough right with it, the guilt of giving it a
mediocre review increases. All of this notwithstanding, SHOOTING FISH
starts well enough but runs completely out of ideas by the midway
point. After that, director Stefan Schwartz just runs out the clock
until he brings the film in at a minimal length of an hour and a half.
If ever there was a case for a cute short film, this is it.
"I owed a lot of money to big guys with hairy shoulders," Dylan
(Dan Futterman) explains why their life of crime begin. He and his
partner Jez (Stuart Townsend) are non-stop swindlers. Self-described
Robin Hoods, they steal from the rich, which generally means the
middle-class, to give to the orphans, which means them. Their goal is
a stately home for themselves - something on the order of Blenheim. As
a temp, they hire a bright-eyed medical student named Georgia, played
charmingly by Kate Beckinsale, who was Emma in last year's television
mini-series of the same name.
Ah, the scams they pull off. Although they attempt con games
large and small, the show opens on one of their most masterful. They
bring in company executives for a demonstration of their sixth
generation computer system. Complete with the most amazing and
accurate speech input and output system, the machines can be held for
just a ten percent deposit, payable immediately. Like the nineteenth
century chess playing machines all done with a hidden human chess
expert, their computers are controlled remotely by Jez and Georgia
while Dylan oozes charm out of every pore talking to the clients. Who
couldn't believe such a bright young salesman with such an incredible
product?
Another confidence game has them selling the same batch of
insulation to every household in a row of homes. Since the homes are
joined together, they sneak the materials from house to house through
the attics after collecting their fee. In the movie's best scene, they
ore chased by a dozen suits who are on to them. In unison, all of the
professionals pull out their personal digital assistants and record the
license number of the crook's (stolen) van.
By the middle, with the writers having used up all of their ideas
for petty thievery, we're down to listening to comedic small talk and
admiring the, admittedly fascinating, set decoration by Max Gottlieb
from THE FULL MONTY. Dylan and Jez share an apartment that is, in
equal parts, science fair, flea market, greenhouse, appliance workshop
and palace. Still, one nice set and few comedy sketches does not a
full-length movie make. Or shouldn't.
Copyright © 1998 When a movie like SHOOTING FISH has a big heart and three likable Steve Rhodes
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