Gone Fishin' (1997)

Two fishing fanatics get in trouble when their fishing boat gets stolen while on a trip.

Director:

Christopher Cain

Writers:

Jill Mazursky, J.J. Abrams

Stars:

Joe Pesci, Danny Glover, Rosanna Arquette

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joe Pesci	...	Joe Waters
Danny Glover	...	Gus Green
Rosanna Arquette	...	Rita
Lynn Whitfield	...	Angie
Willie Nelson	...	Billy 'Catch' Pooler
Nick Brimble	...	Dekker Massey
Gary Grubbs	...	Phil Beasly
Carol Kane	...	Donna Waters
Edythe Davis	...	Cookie Green
Jenna Bari	...	Gena Waters
Samantha Brown	...	Tracy Green
Jeff DiLucca	...	Mack Waters
Jamil Akim O'Quinn	...	Gregory Green
Frank Nasso	...	Young Joe
Raynor Scheine	...	Glenn

Storyline

Two working-class buddies, Joe and Gus, win a contest and get a free fishing trip. When they arrive, everything goes wrong - hurricanes, stolen car, blow-ups and other catastrophes follow them.

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Plot Keywords:

fishing | boat | fish | swamp | restaurant | 

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Taglines:

Even the fish are laughing!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 May 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Grande Pescaria

Filming Locations:

Beaufort, South Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$53,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$5,784,123 (USA) (30 May 1997)

Gross:

$19,736,932 (USA) (19 September 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Caravan Pictures, Hollywood Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The knife was found wrapped in "The Bonita Banner," a biweekly paper published in Bonita Springs, FL, and distributed Wednesdays and Saturdays.

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Goofs

One of the final scenes shows a "media frenzy." A lens enters from the left of frame, but instead of being a prop TV camera, it's a Panavision Primo lens from a 35mm film camera used to shoot the movie.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Young Joe: This summer's gonna be great, right, Gus?
Young Gus: Yeah, it can't get any worse than last summer.
Young Joe: That's for sure. See, last summer was a learning experience. For instance, we know where my father keeps his cigars.
Young Gus: Now, Joe, you shouldn't be smoking. Man, it's bad for you.
Young Joe: Rolled on the thighs of Cuban honeys. I swear, this summer's gonna be a ten.
Young Gus: Ten plus.
Young Joe, Young Gus: Borderline 11!

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Connections

Featured in Bad Movie Beatdown: Gone Fishin' (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Best Friend"
Written and Performed by Peter Love, Roger Cain, Adam Kury, Scott Kormos and Michael Lord

User Reviews

A Rated R Plot Taken in a PG Matter

When looked at at a specific perspective, you can see what the producers were trying to do with Gone Fishin'. Make it a quirky, not very serious, fun kids movie. It seems they picked the two most serious actors for the job though. Danny Glover and Joe Pesci are good in lots of things they have been in, but this is just neither of them at their best. I think the problem was the PG rating. This could have been a great film if it had an R rating. Its almost like Glover and Pesci are struggling to hold back the words they want to use. You can tell Pesci just wants to blow off steam at points in the film. If this was R, it could have been a quirky, funny, and all out Comedy.

Glover and Pesci play Gus and Joe, two average guys who want to get away and have a simple, relaxing vacation at the Everglades. They get way more than they ask for after having their car stolen at a restaurant. They realize the man who stole their car is a crook and a killer so Gus and Joe pair up with two girls looking for the man, for a little while, then go off on their own getting into their own trouble. They embark in every which way to try and stop the crook, but they just dig themselves deeper in a hole. Their stupidity doesn't help the situation one bit has both the leads are clueless and naive. But they are dependent on catching the guy and still making it home for Thanksgiving with their family.

Once again, sometimes their stupidity tends to drag the film on which I've never been a fan of. Its just like in Dinner for Schmucks and Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd. Stupidity is one thing, overwhelmingly stupid is another. It wears on you and almost makes you believe the actors are as dumb as they appear. But, thankfully, Gone Fishin' knows its limits and doesn't make the characters brainy, smartasses or make them bumbling nitwits. So the film doesn't fail there.

While being completely harmless, at the same time, its overly kiddish. We saw Joe Pesci play stupid in Home Alone, but now, after seeing Casino and Goodfellas, I don't want to see him in a PG rated kid movie. Id rather have him be in an R rated Comedy where he can be himself and the same goes with Danny Glover. If this was R, it would probably earn another star, and quite possibly, another star in a half. But at least we get a relaxing opening driving scene with a great Willie Nelson tune in the background and a delightful appearance by him as well.

Gone Fishin' was panned at the time, but it should also be taken into mind Janet Wilder was killed during a scene in this movie, so that doesn't give the movie a get-out-of-harsh-words free card, but it should just be said and maybe go easy on the movie. While Im not praising Gone Fishin', Im neither recommending it very far. Keep that in mind.

Starring: Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Nick Brimble, Rosanna Arquette, Lynn Whitfield, and Willie Nelson. Directed by: Christopher Cain.