# Love Mussel

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> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Use dmy dates|date= May 2026}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date= May 2026}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Love Mussel
| image          =
| alt            = 
| caption        =
| director       = [Michael Hurst](/source/Michael_Hurst)
| producer       = Rachel Jean
| writer         = [Stephen Sinclair](/source/Stephen_Sinclair)
| starring       = [Kevin Smith](/source/Kevin_Smith_(New_Zealand_actor))
| 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](/source/Kevin_Smith_(New_Zealand_actor)), playing himself, investigates a town who are harvesting an aphrodisiac species of [geoduck](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Kevin_Smith_(New_Zealand_actor)) as Kevin Smith
* Geoff Snell as Bob Fife
* Vicky Haughton as Noeline Fife
* [Jacqueline van Beek](/source/Jackie_van_Beek) as Fiona Mathieson
* [Jennifer Ward-Lealand](/source/Jennifer_Ward-Lealand) as Doctor
* Peter Feeney as Rod Umber
* Greg Johnson as Donald Strack
* [Michael Hurst](/source/Michael_Hurst) as Stephen Jessop
* [Pinky Agnew](/source/Pinky_Agnew) as [Jenny Shipley](/source/Jenny_Shipley)
* [John Campbell](/source/John_Campbell_(broadcaster)) 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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Love Mussel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Mussel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Mussel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.