Fishermans Friends movie review (2020)

Here's a movie that doubles down on the city vs. country culture clash and dares you to look at the fishermen's scraggly faces and knit sweaters, and listen to their five-part harmonies, or see the endless amount of happy people in town, and not wish that you were among them. It's an enticing prospect, but Foggin has little idea of how to make this all fun visually, with bits of ensemble comedy inspiring some of its weakest direction, the camera often blandly watching the residents bust Danny's chops about being the new guy in town. At the very least, Foggin can make it a little cute. When it’s time for the group to go prove their chops out in London, they show up to the tour bus in slow-motion, now all wearing sunglasses, a sea-shanty heard in place of where a typical hip-hop cue would be. Even an inspired idea comes from tradition in "Fisherman's Friends," which is more charming with the tunes than the filmmaking. 

The second half of "Fisherman's Friends" shows more of the group's bumpy path to mainstream popularity, including a high-profile wedding gig for a music executive that nearly blacklists them before they even get started. It's less of a cringing moment because their music style is so out of place, but the story casts them with such a flat underdog dynamic, all the more obvious as they slowly rise to fame and a little fortune. Still, it’s not as bad as when the third act is stuck with Rowan's arc and in a larger sense, Danny’s cliche existence as a city guy who learns that you shouldn't help put the local pub up for sale. It’s a belabored subplot that feels like bad karma for all of the script’s many other cheap elements. 

For however much of this is true, it turns out that one of the more honest features about "Fisherman's Friends" is that it’s told through the eyes of an A&R guy. Because this movie isn’t trying to sell you on their music, so much as the script itself, with all of its mild jokes, mechanical romance, and scenes of Jim and the gang rousing up a pub with songs that were the “rock ’n roll of 1752.” The film wants to be as amiable as a drunken singalong, but it's too pushy to make you want to join in.

Now available on digital platforms.

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