Fish Don't Blink

This movie was sooooo bad I turned it off after 15 minutes!

"Fish Don't Blink" is the story of a brother and his younger sister (30 year-old Jimmy-Wil Wheaton and Clara-Lea Thompson) who run a diner in the desert named the Nautilus. The film is almost a remake of 1993's "Benny and Joon"; as Clara is a bit simple-minded/dysfunctional and Pete is agonizing over having her institutionalized. He is also restless to move somewhere more exciting and get on with his life.

The character with the most screen time is Charlie, a huge catfish they keep in a glass tank inside the diner. Clara has frequent conversations with Charlie and some sort of ESP that allows her to eavesdrop on other people thoughts and distant conversations.

The Johnny Depp "Benny and Joon" character is named Pete (Richard Grieco) and he ends up at the diner with Francis (Tonie Perensky) when their car breaks down. Francis is being chased by two gangsters, she witnessed a murder in Las Vegas and hopes to hide out in Mexico.

John Duncan plays Harry James, a small-time used car dealer and real estate agent. Duncan will remind you of Mr. Haney from "Green Acres".

"Fish Don't Blink" will appeal to fans of offbeat comedy as long as they are not looking for something original. The sequencing is a bit off which undermines any attempt to build up some suspense, although these failings will help you appreciate the impact of good editing the next time you see some.

The performances are a mixed bag, Grieco and Duncan are solid, Wheaton is a bit weak and Perensky is awful. While I have never been a Lea Thompson fan, Director Chuck DeBus gets a fantastic performance from her, probably her best ever. While inspired by Mary Stuart Masterson's Joon, Clara is more fun and Thompson brings some great comic moments to the film. Who would have imagined that she was capable of this level of performance,

The script is the product of multiple writers and is extremely uneven (big surprise). Perhaps there was only one talented writer, who wrote all the stuff for Duncan and Thompson then turned over the script to the marginal guys.

Thompson's performance can't entirely carry the film, but she and Duncan are entertaining enough to make it worth watching.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

It's funny--I can totally agree with the criticisms levelled at this film. It is derivative and some of the supporting performances are way too hammy and one-dimensional, but I'm a sucker for movies and plays set in diners. I like the idea of strangers trapped together in a self-contained environment and having to work out their lives among people they would probably only meet on the road or in a roadside café or a bus depot. I found the situation interesting and, while the characters were put through some very stereotypical paces, I was interested in what happened next. Maybe it was because it was on television at a time when I needed a break from all the Olympics coverage; maybe it's because "The Petrified Forest" is one of my favorite vintage films, but I cut this film a lot of slack--more than I probably would have if I had had to pay to go see it--and I enjoyed it and would watch it again. Do I wish some of the acting had been better? Do I wish some of the direction had been tighter? Do I wish there had been a few more surprises in the plot? Sure. That said, every film doesn't have to be a big-budget blockbuster or an exercise in searing, probing character development. Sometimes it's just fun to chillax with what in the old days would have been a B movie second feature. I thought Grieco and Thompson brought a lot to roles that weren't written to be as deep or shaded as they could have been. I thought Dee Wallace Stone and the older gentleman playing a diner customer were wasted in basically bit parts. Wil Wheaton should probably never try to play a drunk scene and the actress playing the female on the run appeared not to have as much experience as might have been necessary to help her make more of an underwritten role, but all the actors were still interesting to watch. Be sure and stay tuned for the credits--they give more information about what happened to the characters.

Tries to be quirky and cute, but is just extremely annoying. Horrible acting. Terrible writing. Inept direction. Lea Thompson's performance is embarrassingly bad. Richard Grieco can't act at all. The jaunty piano score is irritating as hell. Looks like it had a budget of about $5. It would be more entertaining if one were to watch paint dry.

Look no further ! This one is little and it is fun. The cast ... all of them ... do their jobs well. Some will look familiar to most viewers and some not so much. Nothing very much happens and a lot happens .. it's that kind of a film.

I noticed that other reviews have complained that the plot isn't! Well it IS ! There are twists and turns that cannot be expected along with some stuff that you just KNOW is coming BUT it is fun.

For a while it seemed to be on just about every week or so on one of the over-the-air channels with all of the medical and sue-'em ads and then it disappeared. Now it turns up occasionally and if you want to spend a couple of hours with a NICE bunch of people ... l@@k for it and give it a try ... you might just LIKE it, Mikey !