Salmon Fishing in the Yemen 2012
I heard some positive things about this offbeat movie about a British fisheries expert reluctantly helping an Arab sheik build a salmon stream in Yemen. This isn’t a subject that is going to drive people to the theaters, so they added in some romance and made everything even sillier than the original premise, plus added a political angle. The movie fails on almost all fronts, even with Ewan McGregor, who couldn’t be more Scottish, seeming like was just putting on a Scottish accent. The romance aspect is kind of dark, as McGregor’s character leaves his wife, and Emily Blunt’s soldier boyfriend gets killed in Afghanistan. Why not just make them single? Kristin Scott Thomas plays a driven press agent for politicians completely over the top in her intensity, supposedly for laughs. And the sheik himself seems a little too open minded, while at the same time seeming to be very traditional.
At heart, this is more of a light romantic comedy, and the story itself is interesting, so it is certainly likable, just not very good, and the performances from some solid actors just didn’t seem very good either.
Written: 09 Mar 2013
Owned on: Digital