I had high hopes for this film as I thought it would be a great clash of cultures comedy, especially with Omid Jalali as the star.
Regrettably, to my disappointment it fell very flat.
The film started off quite well and was humorous, but it soon became dry and felt like an old fashioned TV sketch. Hence, the camera was just filming dry witty dialogue exchanges of the same thing over and over again with limited change in camera angle, which made it boring.
Despite being fiction, the set up of the characters depicted were confusing and consequently hard to believe. Omid Jalali is supposed to be a London born Pakistani, despite being adopted from Jewish descent from a very young age. However, any Islamic references from Omid sounded very Arabic/middle eastern, which contrasted greatly with his family who were clearly British Pakistani and felt like they were non-Londoners particularly with the Northern Burke friend. Consequently, I wasn't sure if I was in Bradford or London.
Furthermore, I found it hugely Ironic that the fanatic Egyptian cleric sounded heavily Israeli!!! It was even more ironic that he was suppose to be Egyptian but had a daughter and wife that looked clearly Pakistani/Indian rather than Egyptian! Nothing wrong with make believe but all of it didn't gel and soured the movie.
If Omid Jalali's family was set up as a London Arabic/Persian family, I think this would have had a huge positive difference to the film by making it feel more real and funny! Mainly because this is what Omid knows and he could have exploited a lot of the day to day humour without having to make spoofed Jewish/Muslim references all the time that soon got dull.
The film also conveyed the impression that all Muslims were anti-Jewish and all Jewish people were anti-Muslim just because of the Israeli – Palestinian conflict. Consequently, I thought this was very two dimensional and unrealistic and it put me off the film.
Some positive points, the climax was quite entertaining and the first 10 minutes were good to watch. It also had a nice dramatic undertone as Omid Jalali goes on his quest for his roots. There were also humorous moments throughout, but they would only earn a smirk rather than laughter.
Overall, this could have been such a great film if it was done in a better way and I think it's poor performance at the box office reflects that. However, If you have a British Pakistani background, I'd suggest watching the film as you may enjoy it as it seem's more tailored for a British Pakistani audience. If you're easy going and enjoy dry British or ethnic humour you may also enjoy it.
However, if you're having a night in and you want a good comedy to enjoy, avoid this and pick up something like "Knocked Up" for guaranteed entertainment.
Regrettably, to my disappointment it fell very flat.
The film started off quite well and was humorous, but it soon became dry and felt like an old fashioned TV sketch. Hence, the camera was just filming dry witty dialogue exchanges of the same thing over and over again with limited change in camera angle, which made it boring.
Despite being fiction, the set up of the characters depicted were confusing and consequently hard to believe. Omid Jalali is supposed to be a London born Pakistani, despite being adopted from Jewish descent from a very young age. However, any Islamic references from Omid sounded very Arabic/middle eastern, which contrasted greatly with his family who were clearly British Pakistani and felt like they were non-Londoners particularly with the Northern Burke friend. Consequently, I wasn't sure if I was in Bradford or London.
Furthermore, I found it hugely Ironic that the fanatic Egyptian cleric sounded heavily Israeli!!! It was even more ironic that he was suppose to be Egyptian but had a daughter and wife that looked clearly Pakistani/Indian rather than Egyptian! Nothing wrong with make believe but all of it didn't gel and soured the movie.
If Omid Jalali's family was set up as a London Arabic/Persian family, I think this would have had a huge positive difference to the film by making it feel more real and funny! Mainly because this is what Omid knows and he could have exploited a lot of the day to day humour without having to make spoofed Jewish/Muslim references all the time that soon got dull.
The film also conveyed the impression that all Muslims were anti-Jewish and all Jewish people were anti-Muslim just because of the Israeli – Palestinian conflict. Consequently, I thought this was very two dimensional and unrealistic and it put me off the film.
Some positive points, the climax was quite entertaining and the first 10 minutes were good to watch. It also had a nice dramatic undertone as Omid Jalali goes on his quest for his roots. There were also humorous moments throughout, but they would only earn a smirk rather than laughter.
Overall, this could have been such a great film if it was done in a better way and I think it's poor performance at the box office reflects that. However, If you have a British Pakistani background, I'd suggest watching the film as you may enjoy it as it seem's more tailored for a British Pakistani audience. If you're easy going and enjoy dry British or ethnic humour you may also enjoy it.
However, if you're having a night in and you want a good comedy to enjoy, avoid this and pick up something like "Knocked Up" for guaranteed entertainment.