SHARK TALE
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Oscar's (Will Smith, "Ali") dreams involve so much more than his job at the
Whale Wash, where his 'best friend' Angie (Renee Zellweger, "Cold
Mountain"), the front office girl, dreams of more than friendship. The
little bright yellow fish ends up in the wrong place at the right time when
he becomes the bait Great White mob son Frankie (Michael Imperioli, HBO's
"The Sopranos") uses to get his brother Lennie (Jack Black, "The School of
Rock") to drop his vegetarian act just before getting offed by a well timed
anchor drop. Oscar uses the dead shark for his own fame and fortune as the
Sharkslayer, a whopper of a fish story the media spins as a "Shark Tale."
Dreamworks animation gives "Finding Nemo" a hip hop makeover that fizzles
when it should sizzle. "Shark Tale" has a couple of cute gags, but its
unlikable hero and dull storyline sink it.
The film's most imaginative moment is it's very first few moments, when the
Dreamworks logo boy casts a line from his crescent moon and the worm tied
to his hook becomes "Shark Tale's" first talking character. The cute
little buy is let free by Lenny, the misunderstood shark (who looks a
little toothless after Nemo's bad boy trying to go good). Back at Reef
City, Oscar owes 5,000 clams to his boss Sykes (director Martin Scorcese)
for a string of money making ideas gone bad. Sykes, who is tired of
forking over payola to mob boss Don Lino (Robert DeNiro), jumps at the
chance to turn Oscar's shark-slaying tale into a money making legend that
also keeps the sharks at bay. Oscar, who finally gets his penthouse and
bling, also gets a tiresome entourage, a gold-digging femme fatale
(Angelina Jolie), an inconvenient new bud in Lennie the shark and the loss
of Angie's respect.
While it's great to finally get a performance from Jack Black as something
other than loud and hyperactive, Will Smith does nothing to make Oscar
engaging. None of the vocal talents particularly stand out with the
exception of the unmistakable Peter Falk as old shark Don Feinberg.
Vincent Pastore's (Big Pussy from "The Sopranos") Luca, a calamari
consigliare, has some amusing lines and DeNiro does fine by the don, but
the distinctive voice of Scorcese as an excitable pufferfish isn't as funny
in execution as must have been in casting. Katie Couric's presence as news
anchor Katie Current has achieved the goal of incessant plugging on The
Today Show (Dreamworks animation is taking product placement to new levels
as the Gap, among others, makes its second punny appearance in a Dreamworks
toon this year.)
Screenwriter Michael J. Wilson ("Ice Age") trots out unfunny film
references ("Jerry Maguire") and rehashed plot lines ("Trading Places,"
"Nemo") with deadening results. Wilson's world is one of those half
realized fantastical places where for every one thing rejiggered for its
imagined environs, like the car wash/cleaning station, something else, like
a fire hydrant, is a lazy bit of nonsensical background. The best
reinvention in "Shark Tale" is inspired - a pair of Rastaffarian jellyfish
with day-glo hats and electrical dreads. A shrimp cocktail with a sob
story is another cute touch, but the good ideas stop flowing pretty
quickly. Well integrated 1970s musical selections can make a film pop, but
"Shark Tale's" use of the theme from "The Godfather," "Car Wash" and
"Movin' On Up" merely make it feel dated.
C
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