Its about two entrepreneurial young men - American mastermind Dylan (Dan Futterman) and his best friend, British inventor and all round geek, Jez (Stuart Townsend). They are both very likeable as actors and as characters. They run a complex series of scams to raise money to retire. Much of their funds come through winning competitions which they then work out clever scams to turn that prize into hard cash. Greenhouses, insulating material, inflatable dolls - this movie is worth it just to see what they do with some of their prizes.
Enter Georgie (Kate Beckinsale) who gets caught up in their schemes, but has a life and problems of her own to resolve. She is bright and proves pivotal in finding a final resolution that could solve all their problems.
One of the things I didn't figure out for a while was the significance of the title. I expect it refers to making easy money from suckers- 'shooting fish in a barrel' - but it is not used in the movie and only reffered to in one very quick exchange between Dylan and Jez. When they find a elderly lady who has no money they call her a 'thin fish' so they don't rip her off.
Its a very fun, charming film and well worth every one of five stars.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! A romantic, funny and interesting story masterly directed by Stefan Schwartz
I'll leave the story details to the other reviewers, I just wish to point out that this disc has several scenes edited out from the original cut. This unneccesary editing spoiled my enjoyment somewhat and reduced my rating from a 4 to a 3.
To be specific, I'm refering to the scene where the English middle-class enemies of our orphaned heroes trashed their makeshift home while spouting various patriotic phrases like "England Forever!" etc... It was quite an emotional scene to say the least, especially with the two heroes quivering in silent fear while these "respectable gentlemen" went about being total hooligans.
I'm definitely going to get the original UK region 2 disc.
