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Program 40: The Shiny Shrimps (Les Crevettes pailletées)

Directed by Maxime Govare, Cédric Le Gallo

Narrative Feature, October 20, Subtitled
France
2019
103 mins

In French with English subtitles.

Matthias LeGroff, an ill-tempered world champion swimmer, has been caught on camera using anti-gay slurs. His reputation in tatters, he’s ordered to rehab his image by coaching a gay water polo team. Making matters worse, he’s been assigned to The Shiny Shrimps, a team so bad that they’ve been called “the worst team in gay sports history.” For Matthias, the equation is simple: coach The Shiny Shrimps to success at the upcoming Gay Games or he’ll never swim competitively again.

The Shiny Shrimps aren’t just bad, they’re downright silly. Much to the chagrin of their ultra-competitive new coach, they’re clearly more focused on having fun and building comradery than wins and losses. Instead of strategy and skill, practice time is spent learning choreography. A match against their arch rivals, a team of “vicious lesbians” known as The Pool Punchers, shows Matthias what an impossible challenge lays in front of him.

The film really hits its stride when The Shiny Shrimps hit the road for The Gay Games in a dilapidated bus reminiscent of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. As the film morphs from sports movie to road trip comedy and back again, we see this team of misfit characters in a whole new light. While the Shrimps traverse the backroads of Europe, they also navigate everything from homophobia, heartbreak, and acceptance of transgender teammates to wacky all-night parties, drunken hook-ups, and tattoos in places best left to the imagination.

Screwball comedy swims side-by-side with some truly tender moments in a movie that perfectly balances side-splitting laughter with a surprising amount of heart. Whether you’re a fan of sports movies, slapstick fun, or men in speedos, there’s something for everyone in The Shiny Shrimps.

~ Stephen Weisenreder

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