{{Use dmy dates|date= May 2026}} {{Use New Zealand English|date= May 2026}} {{Infobox film | name = Love Mussel | image = | alt = | caption = | director = Michael Hurst | producer = Rachel Jean | writer = Stephen Sinclair | starring = Kevin Smith | music = Jason Smith | cinematography = Dale McCready | editing = Nicola Smith | studio = Frame Up Films | distributor = | released = {{Film date|2001|07|19}} | runtime = 47 min | country = New Zealand | language = English | budget = | gross = }}
'''''Love Mussel''''' is a 2001 New Zealand television film. It is a mockumentary where Kevin Smith, playing himself, investigates a town who are harvesting an aphrodisiac species of geoduck (pronounced as gooey duck).<ref>{{citation |last = |first= |title= Sex and the gooey duck |periodical = The Evening Post |date= 16 July 2001 |url= }}</ref><ref>{{citation |last = Hoby |first= Katherine |title= Ureroa plays host to Kevin Smith's 'Love Mussel' |periodical = The New Zealand Herald |date= 18 July 2001 |url= https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/ureroa-plays-host-to-kevin-smiths-love-mussel/7UIFFGPKESMHUV75X55M4ES6DI/ }}</ref> First commissioned for a Sunday drama series, it was originally intended to star Sam Neill.<ref>{{citation |last = Hughes |first= Owen |title= A Perspective |periodical = NZ On Screen |date= 2 February 2017 |url= https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/love-mussel-2001/background/owen-hughes }}</ref>
==Synopsis== Kevin Smith is creating a documentary in the town of Ureroa where they have the Gooey Duck, a shellfish with Viagra-like properties. Focussing on locals, Bob and Noeline, who harvest the shellfish, Smith tries one himself with disastrous consequences.<ref>{{citation |last = |first= |title= Can ya' feel the love |periodical = The Press |date= 17 July 2001 |url= }}</ref>
==Cast== * Kevin Smith as Kevin Smith * Geoff Snell as Bob Fife * Vicky Haughton as Noeline Fife * Jacqueline van Beek as Fiona Mathieson * Jennifer Ward-Lealand as Doctor * Peter Feeney as Rod Umber * Greg Johnson as Donald Strack * Michael Hurst as Stephen Jessop * Pinky Agnew as Jenny Shipley * John Campbell as John Campbell
==Reception== Jane Bowron in The Evening Post said it was "Made along the lines of Frontline, the gentle Australian satire about the shenanigans of a TV channel" and wrote "Of course it was supposed to be terribly funny that a chap of Smith's obvious sexual charms (he always looks like he might strip at any moment) would develop an erotic appetite for the MP for Ashburton."<ref>{{citation |last = Bowron |first= Jane |title= Spot the real gooey duck |periodical = The Evening Post |date= 28 July 2001 |url= }}</ref> ''The Listener'''s Diana Wichtel said "as a comedian [Kevin Smith] put his Me Tarzan good looks to even better use. Thanks to him, a lively script and deft directing, Love Mussel was a good, honest laugh."<ref>{{citation |last = Wichtel |first= Diana |title= Love Mussel |periodical = The Listener |date= 4 August 2001 |url= }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|0387363}} *[https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/love-mussel-2001/overview Love Mussel] at NZ On Screen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Love Mussel}} Category:2001 films Category:2001 English-language films Category:2000s New Zealand films Category:Films shot in New Zealand Category:Films set in New Zealand