I
hadn’t heard more than middling things about Shooting Fish, so I assumed it’d be one of those films that I
politely see once for a favorite actor, enjoying their scenes and putting in my
time for the rest of it (see Weisz, Rachel: Envy.) However, this turned out to be a fun little
film with some engaging characters and amusing twists.
Dylan
and Jez are two young men who take a delight in their gainful self-employment
as con artists. With Dylan’s savoir faire and Jez’s technological
know-how, they busk their way from grift to grift. Some of their cons are really fun and
inventive, and I like their deep/dysfunctional friendship. Naturally, this movie shakes up their status
quo, and the monkey wrench thrown into the works is Georgie, a lovely young
woman they both have their eye on (I know – never would’ve guessed,
right?) So yes, parts of it are
predictable or silly, but overall, it’s great to watch Dylan and Jez get into
scrapes just to see how they’ll wriggle their way out of it.
PC
plays Mr. Gilzean, one of many potential marks for the duo. He seems to make his living evaluating new
inventions. Dylan and Jez come to him
with an impressive, if entirely ersatz, breakthrough that the stuns the
seen-it-all weariness right out of him.
It’s a
small role – he’s not in more than a couple of scenes – and Mr. Gilzean doesn’t
really have much characterization to speak of.
However, the sequence of Dylan and Jez trying to con him is very funny
and enjoyable.
A
number of familiar faces in this film.
Dylan is played by Dan Futterman, who I’ll always remember as the son in
The Birdcage, and Kate Beckinsale
plays George. Additionally, Ralph Ineson
(Finchy from the British Office) and
Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey’s Mrs.
Hughes) both appear in small roles.
Accent Watch
Scottish.
Recommend?
In
General
– I think so. It’s creative and a little
kooky, and plenty of fun.
PC-wise – Not
necessarily. Pretty small role.
Warnings
A
little swearing and general criminal activity.
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