The summer movie season is known by most for its big budget blockbusters. Crowds are drawn to the theaters for the action, explosions and superheroes, myself included.  But one of my favorite things to do to escape the summer heat is go to a movie theater, where the air conditioning is always blasting, to see one of the smaller, more intimate films put out as counter programming to the blockbusters.  If this was a normal summer, I would have found myself going to see a film like Fisherman’s Friends.

Inspired by a true story, Fisherman’s Friends tells the story of a group of fisherman who also perform sea shanties for the people of their seaside, Cornish town. With the help of a music manager, Danny, played by Daniel Mays(Good Omens, Star Wars: Rogue One), the group begins to work on an album in hopes of getting a deal with a record label.

What drew me into the film was the first time we see the Fisherman’s Friends singing, not in their concert venue, but out on their boat in the early hours of the morning.  The group’s on-screen chemistry and musical talent pulls you into the screen and makes you feel like you are on the boat with them.  From their jokes with one another to their tense moments, you feel like one of them. 

The audience gets to know the Fishermen and their town as Danny finds himself engulfed in their way of life.  Danny’s city ways in a small, seaside town give the film a “fish out of water” subplot that adds some jokes at his expense.  But it is Danny’s eventual understanding and affection from the new relationships he forms that provide the film with its heart.  

Fisherman’s Friends is a treat for the eyes and ears. The film’s landscape shots of Port Isaac will make the viewer planning their next vacation to Cornwall.  The music,or as the film calls it, “the Rock and Roll of 1752”, will be stuck in your head for a few days after viewing. It is a wonderful viewing experience with something for everyone. 

Fisherman’s Friends is available On Demand and Digital on July 24, 2020.  

Rating 4.5 out of 5 

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