Don’t Misjudge the Horrors of an ‘Arranged Marriage’ (Movie Review)
Arranged Marriage
Rating: 9/10
Director: Anoop Rangi
Writer: Anoop Rangi
Style: Horror/ Dark Comedy
Time: 89 minutes
Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivxRTjSCIPw
Rating: PG-13
Review by Mike Szymanski
If you don’t think this is an outrageously funny film, you are not getting the joke.
This is a sharp, biting, dark comedy — a Bollywood spoof by a female director who knows about the South Asian culture. Don’t take it too seriously, despite the serious nature of the story. Don’t be afraid to laugh, and don’t be afraid to scream.
I think of this movie a lot like the Anne Heche and Tommy Lee Jones 1997 film “Volcano” which was widely misunderstood. That was a movie that exemplified British filmmaker Mick Jackson’s dark tribute to his humorous view of Los Angeles — and not to be taken too seriously. Some of the funniest and ironic moments in any film are in that movie.
As well as this one, which equally spoofs both Eastern and Western cultures and their hypocrisies. It does get a bit over the top, but what isn’t over-the-top in a Bollywood movie?
The absurd moments will relieve the tension of the horror aspects of this film, and will make you laugh out loud.
It focuses on Kamali, who is in school and working retail for Bikini World and she is 23. But, if she isn’t married by 25, her family will consider her an old maid, so they arrange for her to get married into a well-to-do family to a nerdy engineer.
It doesn’t matter that Kamali is dating an irrepressible cute geeky boyfriend named Clive, who has immersed himself in South Asian culture and is ready for any conflicts her father may have if they were to get married.
The clash of cultures is what creates the conflict and horror in the story. It centers on how the old ways and customs get challenged by the new world and modern times. Like the clan in “Rosemary’s Baby,” no one is to be trusted, from the scowling grandmother to the younger sister of Kamali.
No white person who even touches Kamali is safe from her cousins and uncles and particularly her father, who distrust anyone white, even though Kamali was born and raised in the United States.
Ripped from the recent worldwide headlines of brutal treatments of women in South Asia, female director Anoop Rangi shines a light on this dark tradition of arranged marriages without any judgment of culture, religion or country.
Director Rangi says she grew up not seeing any more that dealt with second and third generation South Asian films. “There was very little deviation from these ethnic tropes that felt designed to curry favor from a Western audience rather than convey an authentic point of view,” says the director.
Her intention very well presents the aspect of those generations of immigrants but also mocks everyone’s point of view.
The director notes, “For once, everyone else is the butt of the joke.”
The success of this film is not only in the clever writing (by the director), but in the dry wit delivery of the lines by an accomplished cast. Kamali, the lead, is played by Megha Sandhu from “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” and is beautifully depicted in every scene even when things get ugly.
Her father is Kavi Raz, a notable face from the first “Pet Sematery” and the first Indian actor to play as a regular in a major TV show, “St. Elsewhere” in the 1980s. He balances his tenderness and love of family with the anger he builds up against the modernization of his daughter.
Some of the other actors are priceless: such as the gruff grumpy grandmother played by Balinder Johal and the white boyfriend Clive played by Jordan Williams.
Clive transforms very quickly from a forgiving fiancé who explains, “This is the accepted way of immigrants dealing with these kind of issues” until his car gets firebombed and he turns into a full-blown racist.
Another odd side note of a memorable appearance is by Jose Rosete playing a detective who is baffled by the customs of South Asia and doesn’t believe Kamali’s concerns. He make small micro-agressions toward her culture, and wears a Hitler-like mustache for some unsettling reason.
Jude Holmes plays the nerd who Kamali is supposed to marry, and in a lavish family ceremony he sits with a paper bag over his head as he is revealed to her. The scenes of food, costumes, decorations, music and customs are rich with color and authenticity.
Poor Kamali seems caught up in her world of culture that follows her like a serial killer or haunting curse and it destroys the people around her one-by-one until she figures out where it’s all coming from — her family.
Just FYI, to get to know some of the lingo, Kamali kicks around the insult “FOB” which stands for “Fresh Off the Boat” which is how she sees her nerdy betrothed whom she despises.
Another great character that isn’t in the film too long is actor Zack Gold as Jeff, the dude who owns the Bikini World shop that Kamali works at. When her father insists that Jeff fire her because he wants her to concentrate on her studies, Jeff discovers the wrath of her family.
Even when Kamali tries to run away from home, she is followed by an uncle who drives a taxi and reports to her father.
Look for the Bollywood moments that break off into non-sequitur dances and brightly colored sets and backgrounds. Even the threatening thugs step into their own Bollywood dances after beating up people.
The misogyny and subservience of women in this culture are classically sad, but darkly funny. When the father is flipping through a family album of photos, his wife is scrubbing the floor at his feet. When Kamali is seen dancing with friends at a club, her father is told called a whore who was “out seen dancing in a club naked with a white guy.”
The absurdities abound in this film, but the fear is palpable. Kamali is scared and she certainly has a right to be.
Will the new world or the old world win out? Is family more important than friends? Is her culture more important than her future?
The answers may surprise you in this refreshing, funny, scary and fascinating film.
After a successful theatrical release across Canada, ‘Arranged Marriage’ will be launching worldwide on VOD across all major streaming platforms on October 14.
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