A lifelong bachelor confronts his intimacy issues when he sublets his apartment to a fetching biologist. His heartsick fish and his wise best buddy are on hand to provide perspective.A lifelong bachelor confronts his intimacy issues when he sublets his apartment to a fetching biologist. His heartsick fish and his wise best buddy are on hand to provide perspective.A lifelong bachelor confronts his intimacy issues when he sublets his apartment to a fetching biologist. His heartsick fish and his wise best buddy are on hand to provide perspective.
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
Chuck Pfeiffer
- Walter
- (as Chuck Pfeifer)
Robert Zarem
- Research Director
- (as Bobby Zarem)
John Buffalo Mailer
- Logan
- (as John Mailer)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
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..........
Kettle of Fish is for those who like their romantic comedies to seem sophisticated while sipping a glass of wine, but secretly want to be eating pizza, and unwinding after a long week. Nothing too demanding, just flows according to the the rules of the genre: jazz musician, non-committal bachelor type, leases his flat to English research repressed but stunning woman, sparks fly, musician tries other relationships but gradually realizes what's going on.... (It that counts as a spoiler you're probably watching the wrong kind of film...)
Matthew Modine is good as the bachelor fast approaching his sell-by date - he exudes a kind of laid-back charm that works well. Gina Gershon is too British in places - honestly, her accent makes "A Brief Encounter" sound like low down cockney by comparison, if you can forgive it and just treat it as OTT primness then a good time is to be had by all. The fish has real potential, and will no doubt get work. As will the frog. Iguana not so sure about.
While utterly predictable in its ending as befits its romantic nature, it is surprisingly good in its conversations and silly enough in the chase to have a kookie charm of it's own.
Smooth sounds, and fun. My wife and I found this very good in places (Esppecially the conversations the male characters had with each other), but felt the distractions in the plot were trying too hard to be funny peculiar, rather than funny ha-ha. Overall, though, very pleasant and a good warm romantic movie.
We liked it - but we would want the laughs to be tones down and the conversations to be tighter to really love it - worth a rental...
Matthew Modine is good as the bachelor fast approaching his sell-by date - he exudes a kind of laid-back charm that works well. Gina Gershon is too British in places - honestly, her accent makes "A Brief Encounter" sound like low down cockney by comparison, if you can forgive it and just treat it as OTT primness then a good time is to be had by all. The fish has real potential, and will no doubt get work. As will the frog. Iguana not so sure about.
While utterly predictable in its ending as befits its romantic nature, it is surprisingly good in its conversations and silly enough in the chase to have a kookie charm of it's own.
Smooth sounds, and fun. My wife and I found this very good in places (Esppecially the conversations the male characters had with each other), but felt the distractions in the plot were trying too hard to be funny peculiar, rather than funny ha-ha. Overall, though, very pleasant and a good warm romantic movie.
We liked it - but we would want the laughs to be tones down and the conversations to be tighter to really love it - worth a rental...
...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.
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.
Kettle of Fish is the story of Mel, an aging Lothario (Matthew Modine), whose primary emotional attachment is with his fish Daphne, but who is shaken out of his complacency by the arrival of Ginger, a tightly-wound British amphibian biologist played by Gina Gershon. In time-honored romantic comedy style, Mel rents his apartment to Ginger, then is forced to move back in with her, to the discomfort of both. At the same time, Mel falls hard for a bride (Christy Cashman) on her wedding day and goes to crazy lengths to pursue the relationship. The director keeps a light touch throughout, and invests some fairly stock romantic situations with a sense of surprise. Really a mainstream romantic comedy on an indie budget, I thought Kettle was more satisfying and a lot funnier than the usual Hollywood fare. After a little bit of a slow start, the second half of the movie really starts hopping, and there are some genuine laugh-out-loud moments towards the end, particularly in one of the most awkward seduction scenes I've seen in a while. Great date movie.
A lifelong bachelor confronts his intimacy issues when he sublets his apartment to a fetching biologist. His heartsick fish and his wise best buddy are on hand to provide perspective. The metaphors in this movie are abundant, and so are the good moments. Are there annoying things in this movie? Yes, like the overdone characters and such. But the movie has enough to keep you entertained. From an artistic standpoint, there were some plot elements and character developments I didn't think were really needed. This is the kind of film that tries to prove that a small story can be much more meaningful than a larger one. Overall rating: 7/10.
Did you know
- GoofsIn the scene where Ginger asks Melvin for his fish, he takes a coke out of his back pocket and opens it. There is no sound of it opening. Also in several different jump cuts of this scene the coke can changes back and forth.
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $7,196
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $5,594
- Oct 8, 2006
- Gross worldwide
- $7,196
- Runtime
- 1h 37m(97 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.00 : 1
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