Housefull

Houseful, another movie in a long list of Bollywood movies with stories "inspired" by a Hollywood movie.

However Houseful is unique as it has not been adapted from one but several Hollywood movies at one time. It has shades of William H Macy's The Cooler, Ben Stiller's starrer Along came Polly, Owen Wilson's You, Me and Dupree and Meet the Parents.

Being heavily adapted from so many sources makes the movie's storyline completely illogical and one would probably have to check his brain out when entering the theater to enjoy such a film.

Another thing that disappointed me was the background score. It did not support the film and felt very minimal and weak. Given the number of hit songs in the movie the background score was a complete letdown.

However, despite having the above mentioned flaws the movie still works. It has many moments which are very hilarious and which makes this movie a complete masala entertainer.

To conclude this movie may not be an intellectual masterpiece but the movie is still entertaining and is a complete paisa wassol

Housefull is undoubtedly wonderful comedy of the year for Akshay's acting and Ritesh's comic acts. Boman Irani steals the show especially in second half's. The movie has all ingredients for a watchable good movie. At least for this reason everybody should support the movie. The movie is OK with many funny moments.Nobody can forget the scene that takes place where everybody laughs.Sajid has won again without doubts from the audiences.The song "Apni Toh Jaise Taise" is surely fantastic. I feel that Indian audiences has been always supporting good comic movies and therefore Housefull will get maximum support to become a blockbuster hit.Finally I want to say only one thing that as an Indian whenever I see comedy movies I feel I am young and healthy.

Akshay Kumar didn't really have a good 2009 despite having some major projects lined up, with the box office response not living up to expectations. To some, that spells a loser, and the film takes an exaggerated response in having him play the unluckiest man on Earth, Arush, and he's so unlucky that Macau casinos employ him to walk their grounds to ensure winning streaks turn into losing ones. And House Full turns out to be one half of a familiar spin from contemporary Hollywood comedies before becoming its own film after the interval.

The first half spends considerable time developing the character of Arush, whom we see leaving his job to go back to stay with his best buddy Bob (Ritesh Deskmukh) and his wife Heetal (Lara Dutta), two casino employees in London. This segment turns out to be You, Me and Dupree as his unwelcome gatecrash turns the life of the couple upside down with his bad luck rubbing off into their home. Sometimes you can feel that the comedy here is just trying way too hard that it borders on the ridiculous and was flogging the dead unfunny horse, especially with the aftermath of Arush and Bob getting electrocuted.

Then it becomes a mix of a loose Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Heartbreak Kid, with Bob and Heetal matchmaking him with their boss's daughter Devika (Jiah Khan), and it seemed like the perfect match of the Traditional Indian Boy and Girl, only for a surprise to emerge when frolicking in an Italian resort for their honeymoon, and Arush meeting up with his One True Love with Sandy, played by the lovely Deepika Padukone. Comedy here came from Chunky Pandey who plays the hotel owner Akhri Pasta with a penchant of lying and construing them as jokes, and his over the top demeanour actually was remotely funny, even though you'd learn to take everything he says eventually with a pinch of salt, with one key lie being the cause for a running gag for Arush being hurried away from the scene by Bob and Heetal each time Devika enters it.

The story is about pretences, and how in the name of saving one's face and reputation, lies lead to bigger lies, stemming from wanting to impress family members. For Heetal, she has consistently told that she's married to a rich boy and living it up in a big mansion, doing so to impress her dad (Boman Irani) who has frowned upon her decision to stay in London with Bob. For Sandy, her lie involves something similar to her brother Major Krishna Rao (a stoic faced Arjun Rampal) whom she thinks will frown upon her relationship with the loser Arush, and hence both couples have set the tone for the second half after the interval, playing on the theme and rationale of being perfectly OK to lie if it's done for a noble cause, the definition of noble being quite narrow and for personal benefit.

But here's where the entire film lifts off into the comedic stratosphere, as the people they lie to begin to turn up, and lies leading to bigger ones, with the best parts being the case of mistaken identities which the couples have to continue playing it up, and by the midway mark of their gag, there's a convoluted web of relationships that one group has to play off the other in order to keep the truth from exploding. Somehow it also turned primarily into a guy's film, with the female leads in Dutta and Padukone being largely supporting roles, and the male leads getting into plenty of shenanigans filled with homophobic suspicions. With the arrival of Krishna though there's a tinge of Meet the Parents with Arjun Rampal taking on Robert De Niro's role as the military intelligence interrogator casting that wary eye (hand singals adopted as well) on Arush, whose propensity of being the worst jinx in the house getting conveniently forgotten.

If you're game for a madcap time where comedy stem from identities being swapped and the reliance of wits to get out of sticky situations, then this film is for you although you have to endure a lacklustre first half before the narrative picks up. It's almost like Akshay Kumar's De Dana Dan from last year with that spiderweb of fake relationship ties that will keep you engaged, with finely crafted musical sequences. We know AK can dance, and for all the flak Deepika Padukone got for being stiff, I thought she's slowly gaining her groove as seen by the numerous numbers here. My favourite song here will have to be Loser, but this film, thanks to its second half, had prevented it from tanking like one.

I went to watch Hosefull by knowing clearly that this is a Sajid Khan's movie, and it has to be stupid and dumb. I watched the movie Housefull with my gf and very few audiences in the cinema hall. But I laughed and enjoyed the movie through out. I wanted to give a 4 or 5 rating, and even didn't wanted to right a review for the movie. But after watching worse (BC) and worst (Kites) movies one after another, I have to do some justification to the Sajid Khan's movie. So I'm giving Housefull a fully comedy and entertaining movie 8 out of 10, after watching Badmash Comapny and Kites. I gave Kites 1 out of 10 and wanted to give Badmash Company 0 out of 10.

One can't help but feel pity for all the money and resources that has gone down the drain to shape up this awful film. The entire crew & cast enjoyed a royal holiday overseas under the garb of production costs. The director cleverly puts a disclaimer at the very start of the movie that "Housefull" is a tribute to the directors of 70's & 80's hinting the staleness of the product.

The saving grace of the movie is the music. SEL have backed up the product with foot tapping numbers. Background score by Sandeep Chowta is okay'ish. The comedy sequences are completely out of place. And the climax scene which everybody panned - its a straight lift from Charlie Chaplin's "Laughing Gas" only Sajid Khan raped it.

Performances::

Akshay Kumar:: In a desperate attempt to deliver a hit, his performance is sinking faster than titanic.

Ritesh Deshmukh:: Consistent as ever. Did not have much comedy sequences where he could deliver and showcase his talents.

Arjun Rampal:: No good in comedy and his characterisation was awful especially his polygraph machine.

Lara:: Miscast opposite Ritesh.

Jiah Khan:: The Jekyll and Hyde was badly written.

Deepika:: Only beautiful looks.

Chunky Pande: Was irritating in his Aakhree Raasta character.

Boman Irani, Lilette Dubey & Randhir Kapoor:: Wasted

If making a slapstick comedy was the intent then Sajid Khan should learn a lot of things from Hollywood. There exists a genre of slapstick & no brainers delivers complete wholesome entertainment. "Housefull" is a by- product of success-gone-over-the-head when a garbage like "Hey Baby" becomes a hit and the director goes on to make yet another bigger garbage. Nadiadwala & Eros, are you listening?