In 2019, Cornwall’s sea shanty group Fisherman’s Friends got the Full Monty treatment, when the story of how they hit the big time after a record exec discovered them singing down their local pub inspired a good-humoured harmless comedy. One the major charms of Fisherman’s Friends is their authenticity: a bunch of mates singing for pleasure and for each other is a world away from manufactured pop. So, it was a bit of shame that the original film had that slightly flavourless taste of a factory-made British feelgood comedy. That goes double for this sequel.
A chunk of the very likable cast is back. James Purefoy returns as lead singer Jim, who has hit the bottle after the death of his dad, Fisherman’s co-founder Jago, at the end of the first movie. There are more problems when one of the group’s more senior singers, Leadville (Dave Johns), makes inappropriate comments to a female journalist. A humourless media trainer arrives in Port Isaac, taking exception to being called “my darling”.
