Catch of the day
FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS: ONE AND ALL Cert 12A ★★★ In cinemas now
Fisherman’s Friends was the homegrown sleeper hit of 2019, an endearing if formulaic feelgood Brit flick that borrowed heavily from Local Hero and The Full Monty. But would the inevitable sequel be the movie equivalent of that difficult second album?
The original film was based on the rags-to-riches story of a group of sea shanty singers from Port Isaac in Cornwall who signed a record deal in 2010 and landed a top 10 album in the UK charts.
This equally enjoyable second instalment is very loosely inspired by the real group’s whirlwind 2011 which culminated with a performance at the Glastonbury Festival.
We catch up with the world’s oldest “buoy band” on a boozy UK tour of the first album where Leadville (Dave Johns, returning with a slightly improved Cornish accent) offends a female journalist with a disappointingly unfunny joke.
As the exhausted lads return to their achingly beautiful fishing town of Port Isaac, London music execs are engaged in a lively discussion about their future.
The label’s boss (Ramon Tikaram) wants to cut them loose, fearing a novelty act is damaging the company’s reputation, but managing director Leah Jordan ( Jade Anouka) throws them a lifeline. She believes they have another hit album in them and heads to Port Isaac to put the lads through media training.
Sadly, lead singer Jim (James Purefoy) seems willing for the group to join the ranks of one-hit wonders. After the death of his father Jago (David Hayman) in the previous film, the fisherman thinks the group should disband and he seeks solace in his whisky flask.
But, conveniently, a new love interest has arrived in town. Can Irish singer Aubrey Flynn (Imelda May), a reformed hell-raiser, help pull Jim back from the brink?
The plot is largely predictable and the comedy decidedly choppy. But a fresh raft of songs and Purefoy’s touching performance keep this gentle crowd-pleaser afloat.
It’s predictable but a fresh raft of songs and Purefoy’s performance keep it afloat