"Fishing with John" (1991) [TV-Series]

The entire "Fishing With John" is now available on DVD. Probably the most unique fishing show ever created. Makes a great gift for St. Valentine's Day! -- Ed

Interesting Experimental Fishing Show with So-So Results
Author: zetes from Saint Paul, MN

I had gotten a gift certificate from Amazon, and this program seemed interesting to me, so I went ahead and bought it. I'm not entirely glad I did. I enjoyed the cinematography and the music very much, but you know you have a problem when this is the most noticeable aspect of any film. The comedy is often very subtle and clever, but it is also very hit-and-miss. There are also a lot of dry spells during which the narrator, Robb Webb, tries his hardest to liven things up with his often hilarious, but also often annoying, narration. Here are my critiques of the individual episodes:

Episode 1: Montauk with Jim Jarmusch - Being the first episode, you have to give it a little bit of first-timer forgiveness, but this episode is bordering on terrible. Probably the best part of the series is just seeing what these famous people are like in their normal lives. And while Jarmusch is a major player in current independent cinema, I had never even seen him in person before, nor did I know anything about his personality. Neither he nor John Lurie talk very much at all. Robb Webb doesn't say much, either. John Lurie made a major mistake when making this episode by guessing what Jarmusch and the fish they are catching are thinking. "Why I am I here?" he says three different times when Jim Jarmusch is on camera, and "HELP ME!" when the fish are being pulled up. This doesn't work at all. It makes the show seem like a cheap version of MST3K or that Blind Date show on the UPN network. I give this one a 4/10.

Episode 2: Jamaica with Tom Waits - It's sporadically funny. And it's very nice to look at. This episode has one major problem: Tom Waits is really, really angry at John through most of the episode, and we never see why. "You are a real mess, John," he says at the very end of the episode. Tom seemed to be having fun for most of the episode. Also, Robb Webb is at his most annoying, least funny mode in this episode. At one point, he says for no reason, "I would love a bite of your sandwich." This could have been hilarious if he had delivered it properly, say, if he read the line as if he were actually asking somebody in the sound recording booth for a bite of his sandwich. Instead, the line sounds as if the filmmakers are just trying to be weird. The beginning narration by Webb is classic, though he says the same thing again in episode 5. 6/10

Episode 3: Coasta Rica with Matt Dillon - This is my favorite episode. It was pretty consistently funny. There are a lot of funny jokes about the rickety plane they travel in, John's inability to comprehend Spanish fully, Matt Dillon's connections to james Arness' character on Gunsmoke, and especially magical customs and beliefs of the indigenous peoples. The fish dance which John and Matt do "to apologize for the pain that the fish suffer" is the highlight of the entire series. Webb is also very funny in this episode. 8/10

Episode 4: Maine with Willem Dafoe - This is a very close second best episode. While it does not match the hilarious antics of episode 3, it is so cleverly directed and edited that it is actually exciting to watch. We are lead to believe that the fishermen are suffering and struggling for life in the icy weather. This excessive cleverness put a sly smile on my face for the entire episode. 8/10

Episodes 5 & 6: Thailand with Dennis Hopper - These episodes are well worth watching just for Dennis Hopper, even though he doesn't really talk that much (Willem Dafoe and Tom Waits are the two guests who talk the most). Their humor value is not enormous, but it is not hit-and-miss, either. The big joke about these two episodes is that Webb narrates as if Dennis and John are hunting for the never before caught giant squid, whereas the two men are obviously just fishing for, well, fish. 7/10

Overall: well worth a weekend rental, but I doubt many rental stores will have it. It's not worth owning. Overall: 7/10