If the name of this film seems familiar, it's because it is the name of a cough drop, and also a Cornish singing group. Fisherman's Friends is a group of fisherman from Cornwall, England who sing traditional sea-shanties. They were an unlikely sensation back in 2010, when their album debuted and posted a Top 10 hit in the U.K. The story of how they got “discovered” by a BBC Radio presenter is the stuff of legend, and this film tells a hugely fictionalized version of the tale.
In the film, Danny (Daniel Mays), a music agent, is on a bachelor party weekend with some mates from work, in a small, Cornish, fishing village. The callow city-slickers are bored in the quaint, little town, but when they hear an a cappella singing performance from a group of local fisherman, Danny's boss orders him to sign the group. The order is a joke, but Danny takes it seriously, signing the group and wooing the daughter (Tuppence Middleton) of the group's craggy-faced leader (James Purefoy). Along the way, Danny learns to appreciate the small village, and their small-town ways make him a better person.
Like semaphore signals across the water, every plot point in “Fisherman's Friends” is visible from miles away. Despite being based on a true story, it looks as if almost the entire film is fictional, and yet there is nothing original here. Fortunately, the singing is enjoyable, and the cast was charming enough to mostly keep me engaged through the 2-hour film. Character actor David Hayman is particularly good, and you cannot look away from James Purefoy's wind-carved face. (Someday scientists will invent a microscope powerful enough to distinguish between James Purefoy and Tom Jane. Until then, I'll have to read the credits.)
For a film of such limited aspirations, “Fisherman's Friends” is slightly longer than it should be, but it's a fun, charming, little bit of entertainment, and if you have run out of ideas for what to do with a drunken sailor, this is the film for you!
3 stars out of 5
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