Parents' Guide to

A Fish Story

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Faith-based, supernatural drama has profanity, drinking.

Movie NR 2013 110 minutes
A Fish Story Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • A Fish Story Movie: Scene #1
  • A Fish Story Movie: Scene #2
  • A Fish Story Movie: Scene #3
  • A Fish Story Movie: Scene #4

Community Reviews

See all

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

A FISH STORY is a sort of second-coming movie, in which Nick, a man who dies in a car accident, takes over the body of the criminal who accidentally caused the crash. The man, called Eddie, is a small-time thief. He later has a crash, too, and on the edge of death, he allows Nick to live in his body. Nick, looking like Eddie, returns to his family and, through fishing and being nice, tries to heal the wounds Nick's death caused. Somehow Nick's 10-year-old daughter recognizes her father. When "Wanted" posters calling for Eddie's arrest start going up, she pulls them down, certain that the man who looks like Eddie is really her father returned from the dead. Soon her two adult brothers come to the same conclusion, as does the wife. It's not shown how, but Nick manages to escape the police, get back into Eddie's body, and die properly. Then, released from his corporeal self, Nick joins his own father, fishing in heaven.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

A Fish Story is heartfelt but flawed. Performances are good, but they're the tent poles that prop up the illogically conceived, supernatural script by Sam Roberts, who also plays dead husband and father, Nick. Eddie McClintock of TV's Warehouse 13 as Eddie and Jayne Heitmeyer as Nick's wife produce touching moments that largely surpass the weakness of the fantasy on which the movie is based. The movie can't make up its mind as to its message. One character says, "Don't miss out on today for the sake of tomorrow," implying that all the work Nick put into building the family cabin stole moments he could have actually spent with the family. Yet, in contradiction, the cabin later turns out to be a comfort and meaningful legacy to the family after his death. So which is correct?

Another important-sounding but actually nonsensical message is, "A promise made is a debt unpaid" (which is a line from a favorite poem of the screenwriter's), but if the promise is fulfilled, how is the debt unpaid? Most puzzling of all is, "I was never a religious man, but I always had faith that I was something more than just a convenient believer." This is a statement that loops inside of itself until it has no discernible meaning at all. Finally, Nick decides that he agrees with that old aphorism, "Everything happens for a reason." Perhaps it means that he understands the reason he died in the car accident and left his wife and children bereft. Maybe he understands, but certainly not because the movie explains it.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what you think happens after death. Do you think people stick around watching their loved ones, unseen and unheard?

  • What do you think the narrator means when he says that he has "never been a religious man" but he has always "had faith"?

  • Do you think it would help if a dead person came back briefly to be with his family, or would the family mourn all over again after his second departure?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate