Film

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh

Name: The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
Genre: Comedy
Released: 1979
Cast: Julius Erving, Jonathan Winters, Meadowlark Lemon, Jack Kehoe, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Comedy
Light-hearted

A 1979 basketball comedy where a failing Pittsburgh team hires an astrologer to rebuild through zodiac compatibility. It's genuinely weird—part sports movie, part disco fever dream, featuring real NBA stars alongside improv legend Jonathan Winters. Chaotic, silly, and fascinatingly committed to its bonkers premise. For anyone curious about oddball '70s cinema or sports comedy history.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy goofy, slightly creaky studio comedies where real basketball stars mug through a ridiculous premise, and you find a cheerfully daft tone more charming than polished.

Skip it if you need fast, sharp jokes or a tight runtime, since the gags are broad and the pace wanders across its full hundred-plus minutes.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a loose, forgiving hour and a half where the silliness runs long and the plot rarely tightens its grip between gags.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

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But The romance subplot feels obligatory and slows the momentum. Some of the humour hasn't aged as gracefully as the basketball itself.

Semi-Pro2008

Will Ferrell's underdog sports comedy with similar energy: absurd, earnest, and packed with real athletes. Cheerleader comedy mixed with genuine love for the game's messiness and failure.

But Ferrell's particular brand of broad comedy won't land for everyone. The '70s setting is just window-dressing, not a real historical interest.

Kingpin1996

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Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island1981

Same era, same willingness to let sports and comedy and complete weirdness live in the same space without explanation. Both are essentially fever dreams that happened to get filmed.

Made-for-TV movie where the Globetrotters visit the island. It's aggressively silly in a way only '70s/'80s TV could be—pure, unapologetic nonsense played completely straight.

But The production value is genuinely terrible and the plot makes no sense. If you need things to make sense or look polished, you're in for a rough time.

The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island poster

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Slap Shot1977

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Ghostbusters II1989

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But Famously divisive sequel. The supernatural stuff distracts from why people loved the first film. Feels looser in a way that might annoy instead of charm.

Rocky III1982

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But The training montage and Mr. T dynamic feel very dated now. Transitions into straight action movie that leaves the comedy behind halfway through.

Stripes1981

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Matilda1996

Both use fantastical, slightly unhinged logic to solve real problems. The astrology and the telekinesis work the same way—totally absurd solutions that somehow fit the emotional truth of the story.

Danny DeVito's film where a brilliant girl survives her terrible family and school through sheer force of mind. Funny, strange, shot beautifully, and genuinely about something real underneath the whimsy.

But Tonal whiplash—lurches from dark to silly to sincere in ways that don't always work. Won't satisfy anyone looking for consistent genre clarity.