Shark Tale (2004)

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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X-RT-RatingText: C