Carefree mess, with a 'coming out' bonus

Rating: 5/10 (18 December 2005)

First of all, I think this movie was a mess. The constant pop-culture annoyances, the whole ghetto-culture thing, the 'white fish can't dance/jump/whatever', and the adolescent fish with spray-cans. Fish with caps and gold chains is a bit, ahem, stupid. The whole "downtown New York but with fish" idea that the writers sold to the studio is, well; stupid.
The story is thin, and seemed like it was lifted from so much better movies. The product placement was shameless; downright nauseating (can you all say Coral-Cola?).
For my money it had only one thing to offer: I was surprised to find that it handled what could be viewed as an alternate sexuality issue, very gently. Where the rest of the film was awash in heavy-handed slapstick (I mean old-guy-fart jokes, come on), Lenny's dietary and social inclinations (analogous to certain sexual preferences), was dealt with in a positive way; and accepted by a loving parent. For Hollywood, that is a somewhat gutsy and grown-up ingredient to have in a kids movie, is what I think. That I liked.
5 out of 10. Two of those five is for the alternate sexuality issue alone. If you or anyone you know is dealing with this, it will be a pleasant surprise, but other than that: Move along, there is not much to see here.