I'd never seen an Indian musical when I went to see this. And really, I'm still not sure I have. There is some singing and dancing in this movie (the dialogue is in English, the songs in Hindi), but not much. And that's a shame, because the musical numbers are the least clumsy, most entertaining aspect of the film. This is more of a Bollywood homage than an example of it. And as such, the cliché plot and characters are par for the course. It would have been nice, however, if the jokes had been sharper (some of them will make you cringe). They say humour is the hardest thing to translate, and despite a few good laughs, Indian-born, Toronto-based director/writer Deepa Mehta's script makes it obvious that English is not her first language. Another problem is the feeling that she's trying way too hard to be outrageous. Gasp at the grandma's brutal honesty! Gasp at the oversexed housekeeper with the big bosom!! Gasp at the drag queen limo driver!!! Maybe Mehta should stick to drama.
But all that being said, there is some fun to be had here, and sometimes good intentions count for something.
But all that being said, there is some fun to be had here, and sometimes good intentions count for something.