Horst_In_Translation Review of Do Fish Do It?

Do Fish Do It? (2002)

Really could have made a difference if it hadn't tried so hard to be appealing and relevant

[4/10 · 17 March 2017]

"Fickende Fische" is a German movie from 2002, so this one has its 15th anniversary this year. It was written and directed by Almut Getto and she won a German Film Award for her screenplay here. It is also her most known work to this date. This is basically the story of two teenagers and how they fall in and out of love in the face of one of the two suffering from a severe illness. This could have been the premise of a pretty good movie and I also think the actors were good enough to make this become a success or even triumph. Mewes is okay, Rogall is even better and deserving of her German Film Award nominations. This is a drama for the most part, and sadly there are quotes and moments when the writer apparently wanted to make things lighter and included some stupid plays on words for example that really hurt the film a lot. There is not one major flaw with this film, but a handful of minor flaws, which eventually hurt the viewing experience for me a lot. Another example would be the ending, where the film really tries to be so memorable and important and spectacular instead of going for convincing subtlety. Besides this, there are more moments that felt not really authentic or realistic like for example how they keep meeting repeatedly early on in a pretty big city. Quite a shame really that there are more than just a few lows and that they are really low lows. I believe this film had amazing potential really and with better focus and the omission of some cringeworthy moments and scenes this film could not only have made an important statement, but even it could have been a really good coming-of-age film / love story. I just wish that Getto could have chosen subtlety more on many occasions. Anyway, the way it turned out eventually I can not agree at all with the award win for Best Screenplay at the German Film Awards. And I am also not really surprised she did not deliver in terms of quality a better film or one that managed to become as known as this one here. I give "F***ing Fish" a thumbs down and this title actually summarizes the movie perfectly. It tries to be bold and outrageous and that's what it causes to fail while all the fish references were pretty smart and witty, but the way it is shoved into our faces destroys this creativity. A thumbs-down for this movie and also for the fact that I have to censor the film's title because otherwise IMDb won't let me send it. Watch something else instead.