BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

MBunge Kettle of Fish is a romantic-comedy that contains neither romance nor comedy. By no romance, I mean the lead characters and their various paramours have the same sexual chemistry as Spam and grape juice. By no comedy, I mean it's at least 40 minutes into the film before there's even a vague, unsuccessful attempt at humor. This is the sort of movie where you start to wonder when exactly the people involved in making it realized what a leaden fiasco it was. I can't imagine anyone reading this script and thinking it deserved to make it onto the screen, but surely somebody must have figured out what a mistake they were making before they were halfway finished shooting. What must it have been like to spend hours and hours editing this thing only to finally realize no matter how you tried to cut and splice it, Kettle of Fish was never going to be more than a piece of crap?Mel (Matthew Modine) is a professional musician who normally plays the saxophone in a jazz band headed up by his friend Freddie (Isiah Whitlock Jr.). Mel is 40somthing and looks it, particularly around his saggy neck, but still manages to land a bevy of beauties because in this film's reality, there's nothing chicks dig more than middle-aged jazz men who still live like poor college students. As the story begins, Mel is having a mid-life crisis and impetuously decides to move in with Inga (Ewa Da Cruz), his 20something Swedish girlfriend. Mel sublets his apartment to Dr. Ginger Thomas (Gina Gershon), an English scientist who researches the reproductive patterns of frogs. Inga quickly kicks Mel out for being a douchebag, so he weasels his way back into his old apartment and splits the rent with Ginger until she can find her own place.Mel then becomes smitten with Diana (Christy Scott Cashman), a woman he meets on her wedding day, and becomes so fixated on her that he abandons his music career to be the elevator operator in Diana's building so he can see her for a few minutes each day. This movie treats that behavior as wistfully charming. In real life, it would qualify as deranged stalking.As I'm sure you can guess, Mel chases after Diana while he and Ginger fall in love without either of them admitting it to themselves. What passes for clever in this screenplay is that Mel and Ginger bond over Mel's pet fish. It's only when Diana is so neglected by her husband (Fisher Stevens) that she throws herself at Mel that he realizes his feelings for Ginger and blah, blah, blah. There isn't a single original plot development in this entire movie, so if you've seen one romantic-comedy then you know exactly how this one goes.What's most noticeable about Kettle of Fish is how Matthew Modine has absolutely no emotional connection to any of the actresses in the cast. It's almost like they all did their own roles in separate rooms and were then combined on screen via computer. The only believable relationship in the entire film is between Mel and Freddie, but that's of little use since this isn't about Mel coming to grips with his latent homosexuality. I mean, I've always found Modine to be a diffident performer but he might as well be a cigar store Indian for all the attachment he shows to either Ewa Da Cruz, Christy Scott Cashman or Gina Gershon.Not that Da Cruz, Cashman or Gershon are any better. Inga is less like a woman in love and more like a woman with a learning disability. Diana reacts to both Mel and her husband like she were heavily medicated. When the plot needs to kill time by having Ginger trifle with the affection of a fellow research scientist (James O'Connor), Gershon gives it the same level of feeling as if she were testing the pH level in her swimming pool.Gershon's lips are also constantly parted in this film like her teeth were trying to escape from her jaw. Even when her mouth is supposed to be closed, there's a gap in the middle as though she can't unpucker. You don't notice it right away. When you do, though, you can't stop looking at it.When I was finished watching Kettle of Fish, I clicked over to the behind-the-scenes feature on the DVD. I only needed to look at it for 25 seconds before knowing everything there is to know about this film. Writer/director Claudia Myers says this was the first script she wrote in film school and it was inspired by movies where people fall in love at first sight. In other words, she didn't know what the hell she was doing when she wrote it and it's not based on anything real or meaningful from her own life.This is one of those rom-coms where the plot is arduously predictable and the actors look like they'd rather be doing commercials for acne medication. Skip it.

golfproonly1976 the movie is fine for what it is......everybody has different tastes... the old saying is one man's bread is another man's poison...i like gershon very much.. and modine is fine as well.... i am a big movie buff and i have been for almost 50 years...every movie cannot be a gone with the wind or Casablanca.... and there are poor movies out there for sure.. but this movie entertained me because i was not looking for anything like a classic... now.. i admit i saw this film by accident on cable.. so i did not pay for it but still i think the movie has some redeeming qualities and there are some people that would really enjoy it....the movie is set as a light romantic comedy and it does fit that.. One additional comment i must make after reading all the negative comments as well as the positive ones is i have my opinion on the film and so does everyone else... no one's opinion is any more valid than someone else... my best friend loves sushi... i can't stand it.. does that mean there is something wrong with my taste buds... no it does not... so there are people who like this film and there are some who do not.. i will hold to my opinion but if you do not like it hey different stokes for different folks, watch it and form your own opinion..........

andy-o-miller ...with a wonderful, mellow, moody, sophisticated atmosphere and a fine sense of timing, comedy, jazz, and film history. Modine and Gershon - not a combo I'd ever have expected to see together - have a great thing going, and Myers lets them have groove together. C Cashman's stripper scene is one of the funniest I have seen in a movie this year. Like some of the previous posters, I really disagree with the single negative - but vague - comment at the top of this site. Modine and Gershon were brave to take on roles in a small film with an inexperienced director like Myers, but the results are admirable - a meditation and adventure on frogs, jazz, science, nerds, and love. How could anyone resist?I would recommend this intelligent, hilarious movie to anyone who likes good, clean film fun - hopefully it will transcend its Manhattan-cool vibe and find broad success.

djones215 I saw it at the Tribeca film festival and I was impressed. "Kettle of Fish" delivers everything you would want from a romantic comedy: a good story, some big laughs and (after a few twists and turns along the way) the happy ending. The thing that makes this film better than most romantic comedies is its original script, its steady pace and a great performance by Matthew Modine. I would have liked to have seen more of Isiah Whitlock Jr. (State Sen. R. Clayton 'Clay' Davis from "The Wire"), but otherwise I have very little to quibble about with this movie. "Kettle of Fish" would make a good choice for a first date movie.