Catfish (2010)

[KK2.0]

l1DjjKUUhOk

hate those hype charged quotes but i've read some positive things about this one. Opens September in the us.

[Qrazy]

Ugh.

[[ETM]]

Oh, come on.

[Mara]

A quick google search shows that people who have seen it think it was either scripted and filmed as a fake documentary, or else heavily manipulated by the filmmakers, who may have known all along what was going on.

After reading a synopsis, I'm finding the whole thing a little repellent.

[Qrazy]

I'll only see it if it turns out the girl he's in love with turns out to be a Catfish with a cybernetic brain.

[[ETM]]

In these parts, the word "som" (meaning "catfish") is used for someone really, really stupid.

[Mara]

;278432']In these parts, the word "som" (meaning "catfish") is used for someone really, really stupid.

But... catfish is delicious. I have a pecan-crusted catfish recipe that would make you weep with joy.



Don't pick those effers up, though. They sting.

[D_Davis]

I love blackened (burnt) catfish. I also like catfish breaded with cornmeal. Yum!

[Dukefrukem]

is anyone going to see this movie without googling ending?

[Spinal]

is anyone going to see this movie without googling ending?

I was tempted to look it up, but I think I'll try giving the film a chance without knowing.

[megladon8]

I think the ending seems pretty obvious.

[Watashi]

I read the ending. It makes the trailer hilarious.

I was hoping it would be an actual catfish.

[eternity]

Reading the spoilers for that movie make the trailer seem LESS spoilerific than not. Does that make sense? Not really.

[B-side]

I'm... kinda intrigued. I also think it looks like some incredibly didactic and lame cautionary tale about meeting people from the internet.

[MacGuffin]

I tried looking for spoilers and ended up finding so many different stories about what happens at the end, that it almost reminded me of that aristocrats joke. Anyway, what I read initially sounded kinda lame, but I wanna know dammit!

[Derek]

Anyway, what I read initially sounded kinda lame, but I wanna know dammit!

Apparently a screencap leaked about what's waiting in the garage:

http://www.whatnotstudios.com/shit/aykroyd.jpg

[Boner M]

Be awesome if it turned out to be the Uncle Boonmee catfish.

[Dukefrukem]

I can't find the ending on the intrawebs anywhere. I must not be doing it right.

[Wryan]

But... catfish is delicious. I have a pecan-crusted catfish recipe that would make you weep with joy.

I would love if you could send me some. But alas.

Damn, now I really would like to go get some catfish for lunch, tho I've been spending too much money lately on outings and need to cut back. Argh. THIS THREAD. I didn't even watch the trailer.

[Wryan]

From another site. No guarantee that this is the actual twist or just something someone made up:

Goes to the barn. That’s not actually her house. He tracks her down to another small town and find out she’s fat, old, and married with two severely handicapped children. Confronts her about it. She denies it. Then admits to it. End up feeling bad for her. Everyone goes home.

[Dukefrukem]

From another site. No guarantee that this is the actual twist or just something someone made up:

Goes to the barn. That’s not actually her house. He tracks her down to another small town and find out she’s fat, old, and married with two severely handicapped children. Confronts her about it. She denies it. Then admits to it. End up feeling bad for her. Everyone goes home.

Gotta be fake. No fucking way would anyone "track someone down" in another town...I suppose unless you're being video taped. If this were me, as soon as I discovered it's not her place, I would never talk to this person again. That would be my ending.. Thank you for your $10.

[lovejuice]

From another site. No guarantee that this is the actual twist or just something someone made up:

Goes to the barn. That’s not actually her house. He tracks her down to another small town and find out she’s fat, old, and married with two severely handicapped children. Confronts her about it. She denies it. Then admits to it. End up feeling bad for her. Everyone goes home.

that doesn't sound like a hitchcock movie, let's alone the best hitchcock movie that is not directed by hitchcock.

[Boner M]

Serious raves for this one coming from folks on my twitter feed.

[KK2.0]

No one here watched it yet? i guess it was at Sundance and probably a few more festivals this year.

At first i thought it was another faux-reality horror movie, but it's produced by Andrew Jarecki of Capturing the Friedmans, and it's not a mockmentary. Or at least it doesn't want to be marketed as such.

[MacGuffin]

minor spoiler/contemplation
It seems like this is just a basic narrative with a complete interruption in the story at the end of it, rather than a "twist".

[number8]

Seeing how I've been doing a good job of avoiding spoilers for this movie, I was pretty pissed when I read the synopsis on Fandango whilst looking for a ticket. Have I just been spoiled?

http://www.fandango.com/catfish_133628/movieoverview

[MacGuffin]

Seeing how I've been doing a good job of avoiding spoilers for this movie, I was pretty pissed when I read the synopsis on Fandango whilst looking for a ticket. Have I just been spoiled?

http://www.fandango.com/catfish_133628/movieoverview

It doesn't give away any specifics.

[number8]

It doesn't give away any specifics.

But... the fact that she's 8 years old is a pretty big spoiler, no?

[MacGuffin]

But... the fact that she's 8 years old is a pretty big spoiler, no?

I think it's made pretty clear that the girl who sent him the painting is eight. The "spoiler" everyone is going on about has nothing to do with that.

[number8]

OH. Doy. The girl has a sister who sends him paintings. I thought his internet girlfriend turns out to be 8 years old and Chris Hansen is waiting for him at the farm or something.

[B-side]

I'm... kinda intrigued. I also think it looks like some incredibly didactic and lame cautionary tale about meeting people from the internet.

I've just received confirmation that this is not the case. Consider me among those looking forward to it.

[EyesWideOpen]

I went in knowing nothing about it except for seeing the trailer and I really liked it. Read some reviews online and most seemed to mention the fact that some are assuming it's fake which I really doubt and didn't feel fake at any point during the movie.

[Dillard]

Any thread about Catfish that discusses the film in any depth will involve spoilers, so please don't read below unless you have seen the film or have no desire to see it!

The last two films I've seen in theaters are Catfish and The Social Network, and though it may sound surprising, I think I preferred the former. Perhaps it's unfair to compare the two since they have different thematic focuses and one's a documentary (perhaps staged, perhaps not) and the other is a fictional account of some events that happened (though perhaps it plays around with the true facts). However, one thing is for certain: both films focus on an investigation of truthfulness and representation in light of the changes brought about by different online social media such as facebook. Both films also feature characters that are highly-creative inventors. Angela Wesselman-Pierce is the creator of a network of relationships that help her promote her artwork and fill a need in her life to escape from her sometimes-challenging home life. Mark Zuckerberg's creation allows Angela the means to be creative in this way.

Catfish is the film I would have liked The Social Network to be. It pursues the consequences that social media sites like facebook have for how we relate to one another, how we present ourselves, how our conceptions of "Self" are rapidly changing. Of course, my desire for The Social Network to be a certain kind of movie is not an indictment of The Social Network. It goes in different directions through the trial/flashback framing device and its dealing with a number of different themes mentioned in the film's thread, such as Capitalism, greed, revenge, alienation, etc. What it doesn't feature is a very intriguing main character. Though Angela Wesselman-Pierce only comes into the spotlight at the end of Catfish, the hurt, loneliness, disappointment, shyness come through immediately and forcefully in the interactions she has with Nev. Even if Nev and his filmmaking buddies knew they had a hoax on their hands when they started filming Nev's interactions and chose to exploit the situation, they cannot stifle the beautiful, odd, deceptive character that is Angela WP.

[Ezee E]

Catfish even says in the preview that its entirely fiction. Why are people thinking it's a documentary?

[Dillard]

I think the trailer is misleading on that point.

From the Village Voice article (http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-09-15/film/doc-or-not-catfish-is-stranger-than-fiction/):


Catfish's directors, their main subject, and others close to the film insist that nothing in the final cut was fabricated, staged, or re-created. "The reason why some people have said parts of the movie are not real," Henry says, "is because it's told in a way that you're not used to documentaries being told—in real-time."

[Russ]

I'm still a bit confused...probably because I've avoided all spoilers, but just tell me straight up front - is this really a documentary or is it definitely not (ie, fictional)? Viewers may be confused on this, but what's the official story?

EDIT: ok, I see E's post. Pure fiction, eh?

[Watashi]

I'm still a bit confused...probably because I've avoided all spoilers, but just tell me straight up front - is this really a documentary or is it definitely not (ie, fictional)? Viewers may be confused on this, but what's the official story?

EDIT: ok, I see E's post. Pure fiction, eh?
It's not pure fiction. No where in the trailer does it say that.

[D_Davis]

OH. Doy. The girl has a sister who sends him paintings. I thought his internet girlfriend turns out to be 8 years old and Chris Hansen is waiting for him at the farm or something.


http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_f3SZ5Tu916o/S8oMjXM7bVI/AAAAAAAAQfA/WHq5GqoU3vA/s1600/pedobear.png

[Watashi]

Catfish even says in the preview that its entirely fiction. Why are people thinking it's a documentary?
Where in the trailer does it say this?

The creators have come out and said over and over everything is 100% accurate.

[Winston*]

Exit Through the Gift Shop, Joaquin Phoenix thing, this...it seems like every major documentary these days is real/not real.

[EyesWideOpen]

The 20/20 article that I posted above was a 40 minute interview with everyone involved in the film and they say repeatedly it's 100% real. They even respond to the one or two examples that people are using to say it's not real.

As someone whose seen the film I 100% believe it's real.

[Dillard]

And I would add, as I think I did above, that even if part of it is fabricated in some way it still works incredibly well.

[Spinal]

This is not the film you think it is.

It's better.

This really gets at the heart of the social networking phenomenon and explores the underlying magic, pain and confusion. It truly exposes just how shallow The Social Network's scope is and how little it actually explores the ramifications of what is ostensibly its core topic.

Score one for the little guys.

[Watashi]

The main guy here is a bigger asshole than Mark Zuckerberg.

[Spinal]

The main guy here is a bigger asshole than Mark Zuckerberg.

They walk a fine line. But ultimately, I think there is enough compassion and humanity in the film.

[NickGlass]

The main guy here is a bigger asshole than Mark Zuckerberg.

Indeed. Not that I think the two should really be compared--especially given that The Social Network aims to entertain, while Catfish aims to fascinate--but the filmmaking approach in Catfish goes off into problematic territory past the narrative and formal change-up.

I agree that Catfish is more ambitious, and puts forward a more potent thesis, but it's much less successful--or at least entirely less ethical--than Sorkin's film. As I said, however, I'd rather not compare the two and just focus on Catfish's blinding solipsism and sadism. There's truth in Catfish, to be sure, but they are obvious truths that could have been realized in more understanding--and less self-involved--ways.

[Spinal]

I think the collision between big city attitude and small town reality is one of the film's most compelling traits.

[Boner M]

I agree that the film has plenty of food for thought, but really, watching those smug assholes play dumb in their narcissistic quest almost negated any insights made, not to mention make for queasy viewing.

Also, the (seemingly non-ironic) inclusion of that final monologue from the dad just shows how muddled the whole project is and how little the filmmakers learned (or how quickly he un-learned it). Thank god for the lonely middle-aged women who assume fake identities on the net to meet cute young boys, cos they sure make fun puzzles to solve!

[Spinal]

I'm having trouble understanding this criticism. It's not that I disagree with the assessment that the filmmakers are smug. It's that I don't really see what this has to do with whether or not the film is compelling viewing. Whether they realize it or not, the protagonists become subject matter every bit as much as their target. They capture a startling situation that says loads about the impact of social networking and the ways in which it is used to fill the emotional holes in people's lives. I don't see why it matters whether or not I like them.

[eternity]

That was awkward. :/

[Boner M]

It's that I don't really see what this has to do with whether or not the film is compelling viewing.
To each their own. As with all films, I'm basing my opinion on what the filmmakers have done to their material and not the material itself. In this case, I thought a lot of the film's messages were muddled because so much of the ongoing story is in the obvious pursuit of dramatic juice, and the inclusion of the dad's title-explaining monologue trivialises what's happened before and glosses over some of the more painful revelations. Even then, independent of how Nev comes across and how he and co. have documented their gleanings, I don't think the film is very compelling for the most part. I kept thinking about a fictional account, with a genuinely naive young man in the place of Nev (and a stronger facade on his e-lover's part), and how much more it would've got to the heart of the subject. It would at least spared us another generic 'stop filming/turn off the camera' argument.

[Boner M]

I think A.O. Scott's review (http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/09/17/movies/17catfish.html?ref=movies) is pretty on the money.


But at the same time — precisely because of these lapses — “Catfish” is a fascinating document, at once glib, untrustworthy and strangely authentic. I say this with a heavy sigh: this is, by far, one of the most intriguing movies of the year

[Mr. Pink]

Not what I was expecting (I guess that was the point, though), but what I got wasn't too bad, either.

It it possible to feel gypped and satisfied at the same time? If so, that's how I feel about it.

[soitgoes...]

Sure there's a level of douchery involved when the guys decided to pursue the truth. It was done for the film, bottom line. Everyone else would have either called the lady out by phone or simple cut ties the moment they figured out enough to know the situation wasn't what it appeared. The filmmakers were in the process of making a film. Who in their right mind wouldn't do what they did in that situation? End the film then and there or pursue the truth and make some money. The fact that in the end they handled the confrontation with tact should give them some sort of bonus points. Nev could've been a dick, she did after all lead him on for a long time. How would you guys feel if you were led on like that? Personally I would call her every name in the book. There was an amazing amount of restraint.

[B-side]

Nice to see you enjoyed it so much, soitgoes. It's holding up rather well in retrospect.

[soitgoes...]

Nice to see you enjoyed it so much, soitgoes. It's holding up rather well in retrospect.
It's definitely one of the better films I've seen this year. I'm glad I went into it knowing absolutely nothing about it. Through the first 30 minutes of the film I thought it was going to be another My Kid Could Paint That.

[B-side]

It's definitely one of the better films I've seen this year. I'm glad I went into it knowing absolutely nothing about it. Through the first 30 minutes of the film I thought it was going to be another My Kid Could Paint That.

Never saw that, but Catfish was certainly a roller coaster. Glided very nicely between genres and moods, all of which were captivating.

Truth be told, I wasn't really feeling the 2nd half of the film after they had reached her house at first, but after a bit I realized I wasn't any less engaged with the material. I let go of that idea and started becoming pretty emotionally invested. The fact that she felt it necessary to mask herself with all these identities and such just to get a companion outside of her insulated world was heartbreaking. The fact that her husband was so accepting of her artistic pursuits and that she had struggled with the idea of not living that life was somehow more sad than if he hadn't. She chose to be resigned to that lifestyle, having those 2 kids always dependent on her, but that doesn't make it any less difficult.

[soitgoes...]

Never saw that, but Catfish was certainly a roller coaster. Glided very nicely between genres and moods, all of which were captivating.

Truth be told, I wasn't really feeling the 2nd half of the film after they had reached her house at first, but after a bit I realized I wasn't any less engaged with the material. I let go of that idea and started becoming pretty emotionally invested. The fact that she felt it necessary to mask herself with all these identities and such just to get a companion outside of her insulated world was heartbreaking. The fact that her husband was so accepting of her artistic pursuits and that she had struggled with the idea of not living that life was somehow more sad than if he hadn't. She chose to be resigned to that lifestyle, having those 2 kids always dependent on her, but that doesn't make it any less difficult.
The second half was incredibly awkward until he confronted her at the horse ring. Once that happened it went from awkward to sad. I thought Nev showed great maturity once he understood her situation. It's that maturity that saved the film. If the film kept that awkward feeling through to the end I'm sure I would be negative on it.

[B-side]

The second half was incredibly awkward until he confronted her at the horse ring. Once that happened it went from awkward to sad. I thought Nev showed great maturity once he understood her situation. It's that maturity that saved the film. If the film kept that awkward feeling through to the end I'm sure I would be negative on it.


Yeah, I thought it was really cool that he stayed her friend despite all the lies. Then the little "twist" at the end that she didn't even have cancer, nor did she know any of those people. It keeps you on your toes.:P

[Watashi]

You didn't like My Kid Could Paint That?

That's probably my favorite documentary ever.

[soitgoes...]

You didn't like My Kid Could Paint That?

That's probably my favorite documentary ever.Me? I never said that. I like the movie alright. It isn't great, but it's pretty close. My fifth favorite documentary of 2007 (it was a great year for docs, so that shouldn't be seen as a slight). I was just saying that the feel of Catfish at the beginning had me thinking I was going to be in store for another film like My Kid Could Paint That.

[Ezee E]

It's definitely pretty good. And I really don't see a problem with the filmmakers. They never really treat their subject in a bad light after they meet her. The joking around beforehand is something anybody would do when they find out they were part of a lie.

The reveal is sad, but still aggravating that the lie continues the whole time. Angela was quite impressive at her deception.

[Ezee E]

Funny thing I noticed.

You all notice this was executive produced by Brett Ratner?

[eternity]

Funny thing I noticed.

You all notice this was executive produced by Brett Ratner?

He plopped down a bunch of money so Rogue Pictures could get distribution rights at Sundance