Thursday, March 08, 2012

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen Review

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, and the always underrated Kristin Scott Thomas star in this quirky film about salmon fishing and dare I say …faith. A very wealthy Sheik has a dream of bringing the pastime of salmon fishing to his people in Yemen. The plan gets helped along when the Press secretary for the Prime Minister of Great Britain is looking for a positive story from the middle east. She is looking to combat the negative bombing stories that are normally in the news. Emily Blunt plays Harriet, a representative of the sheik who hires a fisheries expert - played Ewan McGregor, to help the Sheik realize his dream. McGregor’s character thinks the plan is rubbish at first glance. After spending time with the Sheik and Harriet he slowly begins to believe in the idea. Of course Blunt & McGregor strike up a romantic relationship along the way( This is a romantic comedy, not fishing documentary). The script is fun….lighthearted and silly, yet at the same time has some more serious themes swimming upstream. I do feel there were too many lose ends at the end of the movie to give it a proper ending. As a result the conclusion is choppy and a bit rushed. That said I love the creativeness of the story and Kristin Scott Thomas’s performance is hilarious!

Rythemovieguy’s grade 2.5 Jaws / B -

If this movie had Parents: Field of Dreams & A River Runs Through it.