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There's No Fish Food in Heaven

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There's No Fish Food in Heaven
Directed byEleanor E. Gaver
Written byEleanor E. Gaver
Produced byJane Reardon
Terence Michael
Allan Mindell
StarringFairuza Balk
Noah Taylor
Tea Leoni
James LeGros
Debi Mazar
Patrick Dempsey
Jeffrey Jones
Udo Kier
Caroline Aaron
K. Todd Freeman
CinematographyPascal Lebeque
Edited byBarbara Gies
Music bySmokey Hormel
Joey Waronker
Production
company
Storm Entertainment[1]
Release date
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

There's No Fish Food in Heaven (also known as Life in the Fast Lane) is a 1998 American black comedy film written and directed by Eleanor E. Gaver.[2] It premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival on October 18, 1998.[3][4]

Synopsis

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Jeff, a street artist, falls madly in love with fellow artist Mona, but she abandons him when she meets a mysterious stranger. To win back Mona's affections, Jeff wraps himself in a package that is mailed to her. Mona and the stranger have sex on top of the box that Jeff is hiding in. As she opens the package, Mona inadvertently kills Jeff with a pair of scissors. The ghost of Jeff remains to haunt Mona, and Mona realizes she wants to join him in the afterlife.

Cast

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Production

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The film was shot in Los Angeles over six weeks in the fall of 1997.[5]

Critical reception

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Matt Williams of The Austin Chronicle wrote, "The true brilliance of the film rests with these characters, who range from pregnant cousin Rosie (Debi Mazar) and Mona's decoupaging mother to a musically inclined minister Pete and a carjacking poet -- a character who needs to recur in every one of director Eleanor Gaver's films. These cleverly constructed characters, captured in Gaver's sunnily decrepit Los Angeles, make Fish Food excellent escapist fare."[6] Writing for The A.V. Club, Nathan Rabin commented, "Life ambles by aimlessly if pleasantly, powered by little more than its own cheerful brand of whimsy. Its undertone of genuine sweetness makes it bearable, even when it resembles an insufferable sitcom pilot."[7]

Variety's Oliver Jones lamented the film's lack of plot and compelling characters.[3][8] He added the film "relies too much on grotesque slapstick, rather than a more satisfying brand of character comedy".[3]

References

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  1. ^ "There's No Fish Food in Heaven". Storm Entertainment. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Encyclopedia of Exhibition. The Association. 1997.
  3. ^ a b c Jones, Oliver (October 26, 1998). "There's No Fish Food in Heaven". Variety. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  4. ^ Schwartz, David (September 25, 1998). "Hamptons Announces Sixth Slate Offering 12 World Premieres; Lineup Strong With Archival Screenings A". IndieWire. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  5. ^ McKenna, Kristine (October 26, 1997). "Modesty to Burn". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  6. ^ Williams, Matt (March 26, 1999). "There's No Fish Food in Heaven". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  7. ^ Rabin, Nathan (March 29, 2002). "Life In The Fast Lane". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  8. ^ Moran, Albert; Vieth, Errol (July 21, 2009). The A to Z of Australian and New Zealand Cinema. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6347-7.
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