Touch of Pink

The accents in this movie take some time to get used to, but if you turn the volume up and really listen intently you'll get it. The story is the same old thing, mom's coming and I'm not out yet. I saw Chicken Tikka Masala before this and it's the same story. I just didn't get into this one very much.

This movie captures the pains involved in coming out in a very touching, and for the most part amusing way. I highly reccomend this movie.

This is a fun film about an average Joe and his imaginary friend (no it is not a Rabbit, but none other than Cary Grant (Kyle MacLachlan does an outstanding job with his impersonation)). Alim's (Jimi Mistry) life is turned upside down as he ties to conceal his gay lifestyle from his overly "traditional" Indian mother (suleka mathew) who decides to visit from out of town...time for a "straight eye for a gay guy" as Alim and his Lover try to "de-gay" the apartment; can Alim's imaginary friend get him out of this mess, or will he only worsen the situation?

Fun Film: Pop some Popcorn & Sit Back and Giggle (it's not a side splitter by any stretch, but it's entertaining) Even my straight older brother enjoyed the antics...

Well, folks, here we have a 2004 'Bollywood' rip of.........er, ahem.........I mean, take off on Ang Lee's "The Wedding Banquet" (1993). And speaking of take offs, the one around which this film centers, involving a very suave and debonair one-time romantic idol, is run into the ground after awhile. Enough can be enough, Cary........er, ahem........I mean, 'Kyle-y'.

If Mistry is ever to become a romantic lead but winds up kissing his female leads no better than he does his male lead here, then he'd better head back to the old 'College of Osculation'-------loosen up, Jimi (a kiss is just a kiss, a mouth is just a mouth........the fundamental things apply.....).

While there are a few cute things in this "rom-com," male lead, Mistry, is just a little too unconvincing. Fortunately, this is not true of Kristen Holden-Reid, who does a terrific job playing boyfriend, Giles. If Supporting Actor nominations were given for films like this, which of course they're not, his name should be one of the first up there.

PS: While Suleka (Sue) Matthew, as Mama Nuru, is a physically lovely woman, her character certainly can be a little taxing at times. Overall, though, she's quite fun.

This trifle of a movie bears more than a passing resemblance to Ang Lee's 1993 "The Wedding Banquet", but it also owes a debt to the Universal Studios romantic comedies of the late 1950's-early 1960's by way of Bollywood. Truer to the spirit of those Doris Day-Rock Hudson concoctions than the far more costly and laborious send-up, Peyton Reed's 2003 "Down With Love", this 2004 indie film has a more contemporary agenda in mind. With his first feature-length film, director Ian Iqbal Rashid uses a narrative device I haven't seen since Herbert Ross's "Play It Again, Sam" - whereas Woody Allen channeled the spirit of Humphrey Bogart in the former film, the gay protagonist here does the same with Cary Grant, apparently his "imaginary" friend since childhood when his mother deserted him temporarily for the excitement of life in London. The movie star provides unsolicited guidance on romantic relationships and the importance of appearing straight in a world hostile to gays.

Choosing Grant (over a more predictable gay icon like Rock Hudson) is intriguing in that he was a celebrity surrounded by innuendo about his sexuality. It all sounds silly and derivative - and to a great degree, it is - but the movie maintains a sweet tone with surprising shades of resonance toward the latter part of the film. I just wish the film could have gone down a more audacious path to match its concept. The story revolves around Alim, a Toronto-raised South Asian who is now living in London with his boyfriend of a year. His mother Nuru comes to visit him unexpectedly prodding him to return to Toronto and marry a nice Indian girl. The problem is that Alim has not come out to his devout Muslim mother, and he has to decide to either tell her about his situation or risk losing his boyfriend Giles, who was quite a player prior to Alim. The plot machinations at the beginning provide an excuse for broad caricatures and silly predicaments much like the movies to which Rashid is paying tribute, and Nuru is initially portrayed as the typical guilt-skewering mother. However, the movie takes some interesting turns with Giles and Nuru having an unexpected rendezvous through London and the plot strands coming together at the traditional wedding of Alim's cousin back in Toronto.

The cast is variable in quality. Jimi Mistry portrays Alim with genuine vulnerability and palpable angst even if he has an unfortunate habit of looking constipated during his more dramatic moments. Better is Suleka Mathew, though too young to be playing Nuru, she at least gets to play a more complete character arc from a kvetching harpy to supportive mother. As Giles, Kristen Holden-Reid does what he can with a rather bland part. Playing the impossible role of Cary Grant, Kyle MacLachlan is surprisingly good if you can get past the fact that Grant is unplayable without a certain sense of parody and impersonation. Aided by a series of wardrobe changes true to Grant's most famous films, MacLachlan actually get the voice down right and certainly has the requisite square jaw, but I wonder if his obtrusive phantom presence should have been supplanted by computer animation or even a voiceover to convey his character's purpose. Brian George, who played the familiar Seinfeld character Babu Bhatt, as Uncle Hassan and Verna Sood as Aunt Dolly provide solid comic support. Yet, in spite of the creativity in adapting familiar movie concepts, overall the film feels relatively tepid.