I Went Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and Caught Nothing

As I need a good romantic comedy fix now and again, I was really looking forward to Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, with its charming cast and apropos director known for his feel-good flicks like Chocolat. That being said, I left feeling beyond disappointed. The plot is too convoluted to effectively summarize, but it is basically about a team of people trying to introduce salmon into the Yemen to please a sheik, all the while the British government is using the story to help put a positive spin on tumultuous Middle East and Western relations in the media. 

That’s where all the trouble begins - the story. It is difficult to follow; Who is who, what is what, and why they are doing this in the first place is unclear. I’m not afraid to admit I had no idea what was going on half the time. Beyond that, the rest of film was predictable. I don’t necessarily believe that predictability is bad or an indicator of the strength of a film, but this all felt a little too contrived. From the get-go, the film was built around the two protagonists (Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor) inevitably falling in love. The rest of the movie suffered because of this. All other stories and characters were marginalized to the point of uselessness. In a romantic comedy, we all know the two characters are fated to end up together despite any threatening challenges, but there must be a little give and take for the audience to truly root for the couple by the end. This give and take was no where to be found because of how set up the entire relationship felt. Consequently, I left the theater feeling unsatisfied and manipulated. 

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen attempted to deal with complicated global issues, but it didn’t exactly pan out. The British government probably feels mocked. Yemen probably feels mocked. The whole thing was embarrassing. The sheik was portrayed as this all-knowing figure, who didn’t say much beyond offering words of wisdom at the film’s convenience. There were also significantly under explained Middle Eastern men trying to assassinate the sheik. I found it offensive. It was a stereotypical Westerner view of the Middle East. Isn’t that what the film was trying to fight against? Apparently not. 

The film’s only redeeming quality was the casting. Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor both make consistently enjoyable films, so I’m surprised they agreed to this one. Nevertheless, both did what they could with a boring, uninspired script. They brought as much life as possible to their characters, giving multi-layered performances. Both of them stepped out of their comfort zones, which was nice to watch. McGregor played less confident than usual, and Blunt played less stiff than usual. Not to mention their chemistry was the one element that kept the film from being unbearable.

With the slew of good films over the past few weeks, I would suggest avoiding this one as appealing as it may look. Unfortunately, it is definitely less warm and fuzzy than it is cold and scaly.