Fisherman’s Friends: One and All
Now that the crusty Cornish fishermen have a major record deal, they have to learn to behave themselves in a politically correct universe.
Singing the same tune: Dave Johns, James Purefoy, Sam Swainsbury and newcomer Richard Harrington
Just as the shanty songsters may consider themselves a novelty act, so the 2019 film of their break-out success was a curious one-off. Or so we thought. The film about the angling amigos who, through a bizarre set of circumstances, secured a record deal with Universal Music, felt more like a TV movie and was both formulaic and cheesy. Nonetheless, it was a hit at the UK box-office and even went on to spawn a stage musical. Somehow, the toe-tapping tunes and the stranger-than-fiction narrative of the fishermen breaking into the charts enthralled filmgoers – and defied the critics. So, it was a hard act to follow. The sequel, still proclaiming to be “based on a true story” (some of it is true), now feels like a real movie with genuine heart-flipping views of the Cornish coastland. Furthermore, there’s a greater depth of field to the character of the lead singer Jim (James Purefoy, excellent), who’s now dealing with the death of his father and the intrusion of a difficult guest staying at his mother’s B&B. One sort of hopes the story will go where we want (it does), although there are surprises along the way.
As the band is given a crash course in tempering its rough edges and, in one of the funniest sequences, instructed on the etiquette of political correctness, so it is guided up the slippery slope of celebrity. But Jim is having none of it and, stubbornly sticking to his principles, threatens the future of the group. For Jim, worse than being unable to use their “local terms of endearment” is the introduction of a new band member, who isn’t even a fisherman, but a farmer, a “muck spreader” and “sheep shagger” as Jim publicly declares.
Not all the one-liners hit home, but many of them do, and as the characters become more familiar to us, re-joining them feels like donning a favourite pair of old slippers. And there’s new blood, too, with Richard Harrington adding credibility (and a great set of pipes) as the “sheep shagger” and the singer Imelda May as a rival for Jim’s local fame. Only Joshua McGuire, as a goon from Universal, sounds an artificial note, replacing Daniel Mays from the first film. But judging by the laughter at the public screening I attended, One and All has deftly won round a new audience.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: James Purefoy, Dave Johns, Sam Swainsbury, Maggie Steed, Jade Anouka, Richard Harrington, Joshua McGuire, Ramon Tikaram, Fiona Button, David Hayman, Imelda May, Meadow Nobrega, Chris Evans (the DJ).
Dir Nick Moorcroft and Meg Leonard, Pro Nick Moorcroft, Meg Leonard and James Spring, Ex Pro Nigel Green and James Purefoy, Screenplay Nick Moorcroft, Meg Leonard and Piers Ashworth, Ph Toby Moore, Pro Des Natalie O'Connor, Ed Johnny Daukes, Music Rupert Christie, Costumes Oliver Cronk, Sound Brian Gilligan, Dialect coach Tim Hambly.
Head Gear Films/Powder Keg Pictures/Fred Films/Legacy-Entertainment Film Dists.
111 mins. UK. 2022. UK Rel: 19 August 2022. Cert. 12A.
