Flyfishing (2002) User Reviews

Excellent light Comedy Drama

[nowego · 7/10 · 5 August 2012]

I only found out about this little hidden gem after looking for material that featured Kate Ashfield after watching her in In the Line of Duty.

Having found it had Frances Barber and Helen Baxendale in it was an added bonus.

This is quite a superb little comedy drama about a couple of mates, Phil and James who share a flat and James talks Phil into joining him in the escort business. Phil is broke and does not have a job so he goes along with it and turns out to be very popular with the older ladies even though he has very little enthusiasm for the job.

He then meets Helen (Kate Ashfield) by "accident", she is a terrible driver by anyones standards and they hit it off immediately.

Phil really likes her but is hesitant due to what he does for a job and takes it slowly all the time feeling rather guilty, Helen just thinks he is a gentleman.

The situation gets interesting when he is invited to meet the parents and the direction of the movie takes a new direction.

I really enjoyed it and gave it a 7.

Fantastic Farcical Black Comedy

[shaggyvileda · 9/10 · 28 August 2002]

Synopsis:

A male escort unknowingly starts dating the daughter of one of his 'clients.' Mayhem ensues. A twisted modern love story, where the inner complexity of the relationships is reflected by the London sprawl. In the midst of all of this, is the truly original allegory of flyfishing to relationships: waiting for the right 'catch' to come along.

Appraisal:

The film is very funny. It employs dramatic irony to great effect. The acting is great, as is the script. There are cameo's from Helen Baxendale, the writers, family of the crew and members of the crew themselves. The strengths of the film lie in it's comedy moments, however there is also a strong love story acting as a backbone to support the comedic touches. In summary: this film is well worth watching.