Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

An almost prototypical dramedy from Lasse Hallström, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen tells the story of efforts to introduce salmon fishing to the Middle East – with the effort primarily spearheaded by an academic (Emily Blunt’s Harriet Chetwode-Talbot) and an uptight fisheries official (Ewan McGregor’s Fred Jones). Hallström has infused Salmon Fishing in the Yemen with precisely the sort of entertaining yet bland sensibility that one has come to expect from the filmmaker, as the movie, which generally unfolds exactly as one might’ve anticipated, boasts an easygoing narrative that’s been peppered with cute bits of humor and romcom shenanigans. There’s little doubt that it’s the endlessly charming work from both McGregor and Blunt that elevates the proceedings above, say, a garden-variety movie-of-the-week, with the actors transforming their nigh one-dimensional characters into genuinely likeable figures that the viewer can’t help but root for. It is, however, impossible not to wonder just why such a simply story has been saddled with a running time of almost two hours, as Hallström offers up a leisurely pace that all-too-often prevents one from wholeheartedly embracing the narrative. Once the feel-good ending rolls around, then, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen has certainly established itself as a perfectly watchable effort that falls right in line with such recent Hallström releases as 2006’s The Hoax and 2010’s Dear John.

**1/2 out of ****