Shown: 4 September 2019
- Date of release: 2019
- Running time: 1h 52m
- Director: Chris Foggin
- Writers: Piers Ashworth, Meg Leonard and Nick Moorcroft
- Country: UK
- Language: English
- Links: IMDB Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic Official Film Website
Plot Synopsis
A fast-living, cynical London music executive (Danny Mays) heads to a remote Cornish village on a stag weekend where he’s pranked by his boss (Noel Clarke) into trying to sign a group of shanty singing fishermen (led by James Purefoy). He becomes the ultimate ‘fish out of water’ as he struggles to gain the respect or enthusiasm of the unlikely boy band and their families (including Tuppence Middleton) who value friendship and community over fame and fortune. As he’s drawn deeper into the traditional way of life he’s forced to re-evaluate his own integrity and ultimately question what success really means.
From The EFC Committee
Our first screening of Fisherman’s Friends proved very successful. In total 69 people attended the film based on a group of local fisherman from Port Isaac, Cornwall who specialise in singing Sea Shanties. The story line provided plenty of material including comedy, romance, the splendour of the Cornish landscape and, of course, plenty of music. It really was ‘feel good’ entertainment and an excellent start to the season.
Films Reviews
Their singing is robustly and winningly performed, and the whole thing is heartfelt. Nice also to see Maggie Steed as the local pub’s landlady. It’s pretty goofy but fun.
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
Fisherman’s Friends is a somewhat tone-deaf comedy drama. With its by-the-numbers story line of a jaded London music industry exec (Daniel Mays) who finds romance and true meaning in his life in addition to an acapella group, plus a subplot about a village pub under threat from an out of town property developer, the film is wearisomely predictable and parochial in its outlook.
Wendy Ide, Screen Daily