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A Lobster Tale
Starring: Colm Meaney, Alberta Watson, Graham Greene,
Jack Knight Directors: Adam Massey
Phase 4 Films, 95 minutes, PG
DVD $9.99
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Colm Meaney is most familiar to SF fen as the Irish engineer Miles O’Brien on Star Trek Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. Here he stars in a family-oriented fantasy about a down-on-his-luck Maine lobster fisherman named Cody who finds a mysterious, glowing green sea moss with healing properties. First it saves his hand after an ugly accident; later, he applies some to a bad injury one of his friends has sustained. Well, after that, he is besieged by neighbors who want a piece of moss. One has a bunion; one limps; another wants a cure for impotence; two donut-munching brothers hope it can reverse obesity.
In the midst of this importunate clamor, Cody misses the warning signs that his closest friend has a serious condition until it is too late. Meanwhile, he is also oblivious to his wife’s efforts to spark his interest or his son’s difficulties with a school bully. Then a company offers him a fortune if he will sell the remainder of the moss. This could be the answer to all their family’s woes, except before Cody makes a decision one way or another, the moss is stolen.
The best part of this movie is the character of the town cop, played with understatement and coyote humor by Graham Greene. He steals; he litters, he offers wise counsel; and when he conducts the investigation his methods are indirect but effective slapstick.
This film is more sobering than upbeat, but it could also lead to some good family discussions about life choices. – Chris Paige
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