Customer Reviews

North Shore Fish [VHS]

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Set in a failing fish-packing plant in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where fishing has always been the primary industry, this 1997 film focuses on the local workers, primarily women. All have graduated from the local high school, married local boys, and expect to spend their lives in town, as do the two men, Salvatore (Sally) Morella (Tony Danza), the plant manager, and Alfred (Porker) Martino (Peter Riegert), the custodian.

With a mixture of comedy and seriousness, the backgrounds of the workers at the fish plant unfold. The plant, for all its problems, has become a substitute family for these tough women, a place where they can escape the drudgery of their homes, talk about their kids, and share their feelings. During the film, an assembly line worker gives birth in the plant, another character plans her abortion, and a huge fistfight develops between Porker and Sally. When the manager announces that the plant will close to make way for a fitness center, the underpinnings of the workers' lives are removed.

Directed by Steve Zuckerman, the screenplay was adapted by Israel Horovitz from his award-winning play. Horovitz's familiarity with Gloucester, where he has lived for thirty summers, is reflected in the intensity of the interactions and the profound commitments of the women to the fish plant. Unfortunately, the action is more appropriate to the intimacy of the stage than to film. Though locations change here, the changes add little to the drama of the workers' lives which unfold, statically, on the assembly line. With most action taking place inside the factory, the opportunities for interesting cinematography diminish.

Mercedes Ruehl, as Flo, is tough-talking and resilient, the sole support for herself, her mother, and her two children, and Ruehl creates empathy in the role. Tony Danza as Sally is a frustrated man who has slept with virtually every woman on the North Shore, most recently Flo, who is pregnant. Carroll Baker as Arlyne is the "class" of the group, a Catholic who will not allow foul language but who is as imprisoned in her job as everyone else.

Unfortunately, all these characters try to duplicate the Boston accent and fail miserably. Danza sounds like someone from the Bronx with a speech impediment, and Baker sounds unlike anything this Boston native has ever heard before, a problem that is so distracting it prevents taking the film seriously. Ruehl comes close to the accent, but only Rusty Schwimmer as Josie sounds natural. A moving and powerful stage play, the film offers only hints of the play's greatness. n Mary Whipple

I bet you never heard Tony talk like this on Who's The Boss?! Tony plays a grumpy manager who loves to swear and run around like a maniac... the main reason I bought it. It is quite a change of character. Ah-oh, Oh-ah.

So for those Tony fans who want to see a different side of his acting abilities ... good movie.