In the absence of any appreciable chemistry between its two leads, "Gone Fishin'" turns to demolishing everything from boats to hotels to one's appetite for comedies about dumb buddies, at least when the result is so rotten.
Dumped on an unsuspecting public after moving its release date a few times, the Hollywood Pictures' film is rancid bait for those who like lead characters with no discernible intelligence but with lots of mayhem-causing bad luck. The production itself was none too lucky, with the death of stunt performer Janet Wilder and the injury of four others in an accident during filming in December 1995.
A pair of dimwitted dads from New Jersey, played by Joe Pesci and Danny Glover, head to Florida for their annual fishing excursion, a traditional getaway that dates back several decades. Their wives plead with them not to get arrested or land in the hospital and make them promise to return in a few days in time for Thanksgiving.
With a banter that shows these morons to be kids posing as adults, the leads are so fixated on fishing that the loss of their boat, car and an encounter with a murderer fail to shake their resolve. They have an annoying habit of bumping into levers and flipping switches for the hell of it, leaving a path of destruction and not thinking twice about running away from a potential long prison term.
Alas, watching the film is akin to being incarcerated for a crime one did not commit. The leads are so flat and unfunny that one welcomes the presence of Rosanna Arquette and Lynn Whitfield as ladies-of-the-road who are trailing the aforementioned murderer, also notorious for wooing and then robbing elderly women.
But the screenplay as such is concerned only with flogging to death the comrades-in-disaster angle and setting up the next round of sometimes spectacular but rather unengaging physical humor. Trains, planes and alligators are tossed into the blender, along with some uninspired peripheral characters.
Director Christopher Cain is almost as inept at finding some sparks in the material as the leads are at fishing -- no easy task. Pesci and Glover cast about for automatic laughs, but even with nonexistent expectations, one is appalled at the lackluster efforts of everyone involved.
GONE FISHIN'
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Hollywood Pictures presents
in association with Caravan Pictures
A Roger Birnbaum production
A Christopher Cain film
Director Christopher Cain
Producers Roger Birnbaum,
Julie Bergman Sender
Writers Jill Mazursky Cody, Jeffrey Abrams
Director of photography Dean Semler
Production designer Lawrence Miller
Editor Jack Hostra
Costume designer Lizzy Gardiner
Music Randy Edelman
Casting Rick Montgomery, Dan Parada
Color/stereo
Cast:
Joe Joe Pesci
Gus Danny Glover
Rita Rosanna Arquette
Angie Lynn Whitfield
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Dumped on an unsuspecting public after moving its release date a few times, the Hollywood Pictures' film is rancid bait for those who like lead characters with no discernible intelligence but with lots of mayhem-causing bad luck. The production itself was none too lucky, with the death of stunt performer Janet Wilder and the injury of four others in an accident during filming in December 1995.
A pair of dimwitted dads from New Jersey, played by Joe Pesci and Danny Glover, head to Florida for their annual fishing excursion, a traditional getaway that dates back several decades. Their wives plead with them not to get arrested or land in the hospital and make them promise to return in a few days in time for Thanksgiving.
With a banter that shows these morons to be kids posing as adults, the leads are so fixated on fishing that the loss of their boat, car and an encounter with a murderer fail to shake their resolve. They have an annoying habit of bumping into levers and flipping switches for the hell of it, leaving a path of destruction and not thinking twice about running away from a potential long prison term.
Alas, watching the film is akin to being incarcerated for a crime one did not commit. The leads are so flat and unfunny that one welcomes the presence of Rosanna Arquette and Lynn Whitfield as ladies-of-the-road who are trailing the aforementioned murderer, also notorious for wooing and then robbing elderly women.
But the screenplay as such is concerned only with flogging to death the comrades-in-disaster angle and setting up the next round of sometimes spectacular but rather unengaging physical humor. Trains, planes and alligators are tossed into the blender, along with some uninspired peripheral characters.
Director Christopher Cain is almost as inept at finding some sparks in the material as the leads are at fishing -- no easy task. Pesci and Glover cast about for automatic laughs, but even with nonexistent expectations, one is appalled at the lackluster efforts of everyone involved.
GONE FISHIN'
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Hollywood Pictures presents
in association with Caravan Pictures
A Roger Birnbaum production
A Christopher Cain film
Director Christopher Cain
Producers Roger Birnbaum,
Julie Bergman Sender
Writers Jill Mazursky Cody, Jeffrey Abrams
Director of photography Dean Semler
Production designer Lawrence Miller
Editor Jack Hostra
Costume designer Lizzy Gardiner
Music Randy Edelman
Casting Rick Montgomery, Dan Parada
Color/stereo
Cast:
Joe Joe Pesci
Gus Danny Glover
Rita Rosanna Arquette
Angie Lynn Whitfield
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
The extreme highs and lows of contemporary teens witnessing the "end of everything" provide some of the funniest and most insightful scenes in the subversive cinema of Gregg Araki, whose new low-budget film "Nowhere" completes his "Teen Apocalypse" trilogy that includes "Totally F***cked Up" and "The Doom Generation".
With a downright surrealistic supporting cast -- from Jaason Simmons and Thyme Lewis to Beverly D'Angelo and Jeremy Jordan -- "Nowhere" is a sexy, savory cinematic cocktail for savvy moviegoers, but distributor Fine Line has its work cut out. Best theatrical results will come in major markets, but over the long haul "Nowhere" should find many appreciative fans as a video rental.
Loosely structured, even for Araki, and less biting than his previous five films, "Nowhere" again features the talented James Duval ("Independence Day") as a sensitive soul afoot in a swirling atmosphere of partying and pop culture that reflects and magnifies every emotion and physical urge.
A wild day in the life of Dark (Duval), "Nowhere" has bimbo-vaporizing aliens, drag queens, a scary televangelist, and characters called Zero, Dingbat, Handjob and Ducky, but at its romantic core the film explores the perils and pleasures of relationships, both serious and casual.
Dark's love interest Mel (Rachel True) is too wild to commit. She has a bitchy butch lover (Kathleen Robertson), and late in the game she gets down with gorgeous twins Surf and Ski (Keith and Derek Brewer).
Dark fantasizes about nice-guy Montgomery (Nathan Bexton), but the former is so confused he can't make any progress. It doesn't help when he starts to see a lizard-like alien zapping friends and strangers.
Other subplots include the downward spiral of a drugged-out musician (Jordan) who has a painful encounter with a dominatrix duo (Chiara Mastroianni, Debi Mazar); the dream-shattering encounter of sweet-girl Egg (Sarah Lassez) with the dreamy Teen Idol (Simmons); and the sexual adventures of brother-sister twins (Ryan Phillippe, Jordan Ladd) with their respective potent lovers (Heather Graham, Lewis).
The film goes nowhere Araki hasn't gone before, but the wickedly shocking finale underscores the filmmaker's go-for-broke sensibilities and piercing wit. There's even a bit of violence to balance out the film's inverted sitcom charm. Whether or not it's true for every viewer, Araki seems to maintain control of a film that's genuinely unpredictable.
NOWHERE
Fine Line Features
Why Not Prods.
Writer-director-editor:Gregg Araki
Producers:Gregg Araki, Andrea Sperling
Director of photography:Arturo Smith
Production designer:Patti Podesta
Costume designer:Sara Jane Slotnick
Casting directors:Rick Montgomery, Dan Parada, Mary Margiotta, Karen Margiotta
Color/stereo
Cast:
Dark:James Duval
Mel:Rachel True
Montgomery:Nathan Bexton
Kriss:Chiara Mastroianni
Kozy:Debi Mazar
Running time -- 85 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
With a downright surrealistic supporting cast -- from Jaason Simmons and Thyme Lewis to Beverly D'Angelo and Jeremy Jordan -- "Nowhere" is a sexy, savory cinematic cocktail for savvy moviegoers, but distributor Fine Line has its work cut out. Best theatrical results will come in major markets, but over the long haul "Nowhere" should find many appreciative fans as a video rental.
Loosely structured, even for Araki, and less biting than his previous five films, "Nowhere" again features the talented James Duval ("Independence Day") as a sensitive soul afoot in a swirling atmosphere of partying and pop culture that reflects and magnifies every emotion and physical urge.
A wild day in the life of Dark (Duval), "Nowhere" has bimbo-vaporizing aliens, drag queens, a scary televangelist, and characters called Zero, Dingbat, Handjob and Ducky, but at its romantic core the film explores the perils and pleasures of relationships, both serious and casual.
Dark's love interest Mel (Rachel True) is too wild to commit. She has a bitchy butch lover (Kathleen Robertson), and late in the game she gets down with gorgeous twins Surf and Ski (Keith and Derek Brewer).
Dark fantasizes about nice-guy Montgomery (Nathan Bexton), but the former is so confused he can't make any progress. It doesn't help when he starts to see a lizard-like alien zapping friends and strangers.
Other subplots include the downward spiral of a drugged-out musician (Jordan) who has a painful encounter with a dominatrix duo (Chiara Mastroianni, Debi Mazar); the dream-shattering encounter of sweet-girl Egg (Sarah Lassez) with the dreamy Teen Idol (Simmons); and the sexual adventures of brother-sister twins (Ryan Phillippe, Jordan Ladd) with their respective potent lovers (Heather Graham, Lewis).
The film goes nowhere Araki hasn't gone before, but the wickedly shocking finale underscores the filmmaker's go-for-broke sensibilities and piercing wit. There's even a bit of violence to balance out the film's inverted sitcom charm. Whether or not it's true for every viewer, Araki seems to maintain control of a film that's genuinely unpredictable.
NOWHERE
Fine Line Features
Why Not Prods.
Writer-director-editor:Gregg Araki
Producers:Gregg Araki, Andrea Sperling
Director of photography:Arturo Smith
Production designer:Patti Podesta
Costume designer:Sara Jane Slotnick
Casting directors:Rick Montgomery, Dan Parada, Mary Margiotta, Karen Margiotta
Color/stereo
Cast:
Dark:James Duval
Mel:Rachel True
Montgomery:Nathan Bexton
Kriss:Chiara Mastroianni
Kozy:Debi Mazar
Running time -- 85 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
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