STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
OK. Yemen is another troubled spot, home to al-Qaida militants and an Arab Spring uprising - not exactly the kind of place you would think of for salmon fishing, but "Salmon Fishing in Yemen" is the name of a new movie that opens today, and we have a review from Kenneth Turan.
KENNETH TURAN, BYLINE: "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" is a pleasant fantasy whose few attempts at seriousness are best forgotten. When Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor are your stars, that's easy to do. Another key to the film's allure is Kristin Scott Thomas' comic turn as a sarcastic British press officer who bites off dialogue that it was so much world-class toffee.
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TURAN: Enter "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen."
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TURAN: That counterintuitive notion was first floated, so to speak, by the bright and energetic Harriet played by Blunt, an investment consultant for a wealthy client who has a passion for bringing salmon fishing to his native land. Harriet starts by trying to interest Alfred, played by McGregor, one of the British government's top fisheries experts.
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TURAN: This crotchety and deadly serious man couldn't be less interested, and treats her requests like the ravings of a lunatic. Fish require water, he says carefully. You are familiar with that concept? But despite initially thinking the other person is ridiculous, the fisheries expert and the investment counselor are not as mismatched as they might imagine, and soon are even flirting over fishing lures.
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TURAN: "Salmon Fishing" does work awfully hard to keep these two apart, but it's difficult not to harbor a sneaking suspicion that things just might play out otherwise. After all, it's that kind of film.
INSKEEP: Kenneth Turan reviews that kind of film and other films for MORNING EDITION and the Los Angeles Times. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
