Original Article: http://dartreview.com/archives/2002/02/04/fishing_for_the_giant_squid_stewart_adam_reviews_the_dvd_fishing_with_john.php
Monday, February 4, 2002
Everyone of us has realized the limitless comedic potential of fishing shows when chancing upon one on a weekend morning. A squirrelly, baseball-hatted master of the piscatory arts is blessed with the celebrity appearance of some half-forgotten athlete. John Lurie, the artist extraordinaire and leader of the jazz group, The Lounge Lizards, brilliantly exploits this potential in his near-parody Fishing With John. The random string of cast members—Dennis Hopper, Tom Waits, Matt Dillon, Jim Jarmusch, and Willem Dafoe—would hardly be the first people that spring to mind when putting together a fishing show, but, after all, that is the point.
Lurie and his comrades venture on six expeditions. Each captures the magnificent beauty of the outdoors and complex ways that fisherman and other indolent, stagnant human beings interact with their natural environments. As Lurie and Dillon paddle down the middle of the Rio Colorado in the heart of the Costa Rican Rain Forest, they are surrounded by an extreme diversity of flora and fauna. Yet the very idea of these city sophisticates attempting to become expert naturalists is enough to incite a person with no appreciation for irony to crack a smile. The viewer senses Lurie's awkwardness while he rides his horse through the woods and it suddenly becomes 'skittish, sensing the eminent danger of the rainforest canopy,' causing Lurie to dismount out of fear for his safety and walk the rest of the way to the small fishing village. Moreover, the exchange between Lurie and Dillon about the significance of the hit Western TV series Gunsmoke and its relevance to Tetchy, the village fisherman who has the ability to transform himself into dove that brings fisherman luck, is beyond hilarious. Whether hunting for the 'ever elusive giant squid' with Dennis Hopper in Thailand or canoeing across the dangerous backwaters of Jamaica because of a suspicious, broken-down car, one gets beaten over the head with the dichotomy between these urban boys and their picturesque surroundings. Take Jim Jarmusch, clad in all Manhattan black, as he ponders the morality of fishing while riding in a 'shark hunting boat.' 'I don't know,' Jarmusch says. 'A part of me feels awfully weird about killing these beautiful, shiny creatures... invading their natural habitat and hunting them down... However, if we never hoisted these sharks on board, we'd never get to see their pervasive beauty. This other part of me feels very naturally about it, like it is my duty at the apex of the food chain to kill these fish.' It quickly become obvious to the viewer that these people know absolutely nothing about fishing.
So what's the point of the show? One gets the sense that Lurie's production is a complete parody of the 'art' of fishing. Lurie points out the curiously homoerotic feel of two men alone out in nature and the glacial passage of time as both men lackadaisically await a bite on the line to Dennis Hopper as they rummage through the monastery of the 'squid monks' of Thailand. Why have the two of them been magnetically drawn to the monks' home? They must discover the secret of the giant squid before catching it and saving Thailand fisherman from being pulled underneath the water by its insidious tentacles and devoured by it voracious jaws and relentless appetite. In this film there are no destinations. The journey is the reward—one played out against the ridiculous and otherwise droll backdrop of a fishing expedition.
Lurie and his guests pass along deep philosophical insight while they wait for a bite, which they rarely see. While looking across the vast Maine wintry expanse, Willem Defoe enlightens Lurie, 'Funny you know... With modern technology how much man knows about his fellow man and how, even from the most remote regions, anyone can be brought into close proximity to anyone else... Yet we still know very little... We know very little about ice fishing, John... or winter survival. How deep is the ocean? Nobody really knows.' Much of the show's charm is derived from this corky, pseudo-intellectual aspect, with Lurie's guests' notoriety and charisma bringing the familiarity and fun of that uncle everyone likes to pick on. Lurie incessantly ribs off Hopper while out on the waters of Thailand: his movies, his lovers, and his fishing ability, but it's all in good fun.
What would a fishing show be without fish stories? They range from Dafoe's story of the 'armless man who drove himself to the hospital' to the prolific number of 'cheese fish' Tom Waits, blues musician, caught in his 'expert years of fishing in France.' The best stories are told by Jarmusch and Lurie while fishing for shark off Long Island. In one such story Lurie reminisces about catching a hideous beast from the deep as a boy; he thought he had 'caught the devil... and ran all the way home from the shore.' Jarmusch amusingly recounts a story about a school of dolphins detecting a woman's breast cancer. Above and beyond all of the absurdities, the cinematography is top-notch and the music, by Lurie himself, is fitting for the episodes' careful pacing.
With the addition of random anecdotes from the 'veteran narrator,' whose tone is a mix between the nature channel and Troy McClure from The Simpsons, the show is complete. The narrator, who gives the show its extra, essential element of hilarity, spouts clichés, perfectly timed exaggerations of situations, and plain illogical nonsense that hit dead center with the overall feel of the movie. At just the right times, the narrator chimes in with obvious descriptions (or misdescriptions) of what is occurring. The narrator's classically fitting ineptitude is no better demonstrated then in his description of the 'two men, who appear out of the timeless expanse of the icy Maine wilderness, where the average winter temperature is eighteen degrees below zero.'
You may ask, how is this film part of the Criterion Collection of important films? Fishing With John has undoubtedly opened many avenues and spin-offs for directors. This meticulously well-produced show combines professional cinematography with home video standards, and so carefully parodies the human tendency to deeply philosophize the blank-slate boredom of fishing. It is a unique mix and hasn't gone unnoticed by those prestigious film viewers who designate Criterion Collection Movies. Fishing With John is a refreshing break from the lame, hackneyed Hollywood movies released every.
Attitude is key when viewing Fishing With John. If you're expecting a serious fishing show with people going from scripts, reminiscent of ESPN Outdoors on Saturday mornings, I wouldn't suggest this movie because it simply contains, as the narrator eloquently states, 'real men doing real things.' The surface level seriousness of this show being a travelogue about camaraderie and strengthening friendship quickly dissipates as you witness, say, the construction of a professional-looking ice shack lined with 'fabric for insulation... out of local debris from the surrounding wooded area.' The jocular, stoned-out-of-their-minds manner characters use in their philosophical introspection further retracts from the possibility of seriousness and adds another variable into the overall alternative-comedic equation. But look for the underlying humor and you'll experience the brilliant, thoughtful wonderment of Fishing with John.