Smiling Fish & Goat On Fire (1999)

Very disappointing...

I'll tell you why so serious

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Blistering performances.

I happened upon this DVD at the library, and because I love watching movies I've never seen which also have strange titles, I checked it out. After watching it a couple of times, I've decided to buy it!"Smiling Fish & Goat on Fire" will definitely not appeal to everyone. It's a quiet little story about relationships, both romantic and brotherly, and "coming of age" (funny, I never knew what that term meant until seeing this film).I hadn't ever heard of the Martini brothers, nor Kevin Jordan or Bill Henderson for that matter, and I probably never would have were it not for the lucky happenstance at the library. This film is genuinely charming, thanks in no small part to the actors and the screenplay. Not your basic Hollywood romantic comedy in the least (and I'm not averse to those), "Smiling Fish..." is in full possession of its own self. Bravo all around! Anyone who comes from a close two-sibling-of-the-same-sex family will probably love this film, as well as anyone who enjoys a touching "slice-of-life" story with much originality, and even more heart. Funny, unique, and sweet!!!

"Smiling Fish and Goat on Fire" is, in several ways, an Italians-in-L.A. version of "The Brothers McMullen."It's evidently done by NYU students, with the print blown-up from 16 mm, grainy shadows and all, and filmed primarily in the house of the brothers who co-star in and co-wrote the screenplay.The problems with the Opposite Sex are pretty much the same too, with one being a happy-go-lucky philanderer (that's "Smiling Fish") and the other a straight-arrow accountant being shredded by his long-time girlfriend (that's "Goat on Fire"). The new, magic realism element is an elderly black sage from the early days of race movies who provides oddball advice on love and the magic of the movies. As twenty-somethings-in-and-out-of-love movies go, this is cute and likable.(originally written 9/16/2000)

To succeed, a romantic comedy has to be centered around likeable characters. Although some of the supporting actors and actresses were likeable, the two "stars" of the movie really failed to shine in this department. Am I supposed to like the first brother because he has a tender moment with an adorable little girl while, unbeknownst to him, her mother is quietly watching? Folks, it doesn't get much more cheeseball that that. Am I supposed to like the second brother, after he acts like a complete jerk throughout the entire movie, simply because he wants to find true love? I couldn't have cared less whether these two losers got what they wanted, and found myself hoping that they ended up alone together--because the only people that they really deserved in my book were each other.If you're the kind of person that is amused and touched when two brothers wrestle in the kitchen and it breaks into a bonding moment between the two barbarians, then this is your movie. For those of you who ask that characters give us something more than their mere presence and hackneyed tender moments to feel involved, stay away. The poor writing for the movie's two main characters completely wastes the few nice moments that the supporting cast provides.One final comment. I was completely turned off by a phrase in the first few moments of the movie, when some cheesy narration by one of the brothers explains the movie's title and prepares us for the hour and a half of lameness that we're about to endure. It went something like this: "I know it sounds gay, but I really love my brother." "I know it sounds gay"? Did I hear that right? "I know it sounds gay"? Do grown adults really use this phrase in this day and age?

At long last! Steven Martini, an extremely talented actor who aside from a doomed TV series and a few made-for TV movies, has been lost to me since _Major Payne_ where he blew me away as Cadet Alex Stone. But through an amazing streak of luck, I ran across this movie. It was wonderfully cast, not a single person seemed badly chosen. The whole story was great, and I was even more astonished when I found out the low budget.Let's give credit where it's due and get this in theaters soon! Absolutely wonderful!