Fishbowl

Kayo Hatta's short film adaptation of Lois-Ann Yamanaka's novel Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers takes place in a rural Hawaiian village in the late 1970s. Thirteen-year-old Lovey is cursed with a bad perm, oversized eyeglasses, and the animosity of a clique of pretty but vicious classmates. Lovey's teacher berates her openly for speaking in the pidgin English she uses at home, and she has only one friend: Billy, a goofy boy who wants to become a Broadway dancer. An opportunity for acceptance and personal redemption arises at a local Halloween costume party, for which Billy and Lovey dress up like the Captain and Tennille. But Billy ruins everything by clumsily attempting to steal the party's prize money, and Lovey later hits the boiling point in school, loudly humiliating one of her tormentors in front of her astonished classmates. Fishbowl addresses common issues facing teens, including peer pressure, being ashamed of one's family, and the desire to be popular. Yet it also carries the hallmarks of bad filmmaking: a dull script, clumsy direction, amateurish acting, and an overbearing sense of self-importance. Even at 28 minutes Fishbowl wears out its welcome very quickly. Not recommended. Aud: J, H, P. (P. Hall)