A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)

2/5

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas is a very Harold & Kumar movie, it's just not a very good movie. It is, in fact, a very stupid movie. The story and the jokes feel like rehashed sloppy second versions of the first one (and probably the second one too, but I never saw it). It is just as rude, crass, and vulgar as every other stoner comedy made in the last 10 years. And it is just as funny as well--which is to say only occasionally funny. The jokes, when they do hit home, can be great. But they can be abysmal as well. The shining light in this series is Neil Patrick Harris, and he does not disappoint here. Unfortunately, he is not enough to make this a memorable movie in any sense of the word. The best I can say about Harold & Kumar is that it is mindless entertainment, with a big focus on mindless. If I were Kal Penn, I probably wouldn't have quit my day job to make this movie.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1268799/

A Lot Like Love (2005)

3/5

A Lot Like Love is a pleasant way to spend an afternoon in. The plot follows Ashton Kutcher (in a role that showed his charm and charisma) and Amanda Peet in a series of fortuitously romantic run-ins spread out across 7 years that eventually blossom into something resembling love. The movie plays out more like a series of moments in time--a few slices of life, if you will--than a continuous story. I find it much more bold and interesting a movie given that it takes that risk; it doesn't tell its story in the safer, conventional manner that plagues average movies. Here, each character matures and changes without overt explanation. We are simply to assume that life has changed them, in the way that life changes people. There are some stale cinematography, some odd editing decisions, but all in all the movie is sweet and unassuming. The fact that it is exactly what you predict it to be makes no difference. No, this romantic comedy is not the movie to change your mind about romantic comedies. But I am beginning to think that the goal of many romantic comedies is not to change your mind about the genre, but rather just to serve as a pleasant way to spend an afternoon in.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0391304/

The Namesake (2006)

3/5

The Namesake is the sprawling tale of Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli as they move to America and raise a family. The movie was advertised as the story of their son Gogol and the pushes and pulls of both his American upbringing and Indian culture and tradition. He is in fact not the focus; rather it is about their entire family and the compromises that they must make living in two worlds. Sameer seems to have gotten more out of the movie than I did, likely because the story strikes a personal chord with him. Still, if one must be an Indian living in America to like this movie, then its audience pool is severely limited. I think it is a failing of the movie that I did not appreciate it more, as I know such a story can be more universal. Take My Big Fat Greek Wedding as an example; though it was drenched in Greek culture, most non-Westerners could relate to the kind of customs it depicted. Instead, this movie shows numerous Indian traditions without any attempt at explanation for non-Indians to understand or relate to. Oh well, at least there wasn't any song and dance in it.

The editing was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Most of the time I was disappointed by it, as it seemed to pick and choose random events in the lives of the Ganguli family. I never had a solid idea of where or when I was in the story. It would often shift abruptly to a different country or point in time, sometimes ten years in the future. What I did like about the editing was how the flashbacks were shown again in extended versions. It felt like a rite of passage; once we learned more about the family's growth in America, we got to witness more about their past. I liked the acting for the most part--Irfan Khan and Tabu stole the show as the parents Ashoke and Ashima. Kal Penn was decent, but neither complex nor subtle. I wasn't impressed with the writing, cinematography, or directing. I did like the music though. It's not a bad movie, but neither is it a good one ... unless perhaps you're an Indian living in America.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0433416/