Polite Society

The story here is quite rudimentary; calling it bizarre or far-fetched would not be an exaggeration, but the way it's been told and the manner in which its eccentricities are presented, or rather, celebrated, is a treat to watch. I was entertained for the whole duration; not once was I driven to distraction or felt an urge to look away from my television, a testimony to its engrossing narration and impressive screenwriting.

Don't worry, I didn't forget the performances; it would be a crime not to say a few words for them. First of all, I want to say, What fantastic casting! Each member of the ensemble played their part with lots of passion and commitment.

Nimra Bucha plays the antagonist, and she does an excellent job. So it was with Ritu Arya as Lena, who plays the gullible but fierce elder sister with grace. Then there's Priya Kansara, the undisputed star of the show. What an astonishing act! Priya commanded every frame she popped up in, and she did so with grace and elegance; it is one of my favourite performances of this year so far.

I sense the makings of a cult classic.

Polite Society starts off in a fairly standard way. Two sisters, very close, then one of them gets engaged to be married, which leaves the younger sister feeling a little deserted. So far, so normal. You can immediately see how the plot will develop. Younger sister tries to break up the couple, falls out with older sister, but then has an epiphany and discovers her future brother in law is a wonderful person and everyone hugs and lives happily ever after. Deception that's not what happens. It kind of does for a while, but gets progressively more and more surreal. Many will watch this movie and think it went totally off the rails. But I just found myself laughing - partly because it was, yes, silly, but mainly because it was fun. And we didn't really need another predictable "boy meets girl and other girl/boy gets upset" movie, did we?

A lot of original films are hitting theatres lately and I am not complaining. Polite Society is one that flew under the radar for me though, as I just heard about it about a month ago. I am happy I decided to try it because it was very enjoyable. I will ultimately recommend this film throughout my review, but I have to say up front that it still underwhelmed me upon reflection. Although not completely satisfying, here is why Polite Society deserves more attention.

Ria (Priya Kansara), a young woman who is aspiring to become a Hollywood stuntwoman, makes it her mission to stop her sister Lena's (Ritu Arya) marriage. She believes that Salim (Akshay Khanna), the man she will be marrying, is hiding some big family secrets. Told through a fun visual style, Polite Society feels like it is trying to be the next Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, but it definitely falls short of that. It's a simple story of a woman trying to prevent her sister from being married, but over-the-top fist fights and science labs are also a huge aspect of this film.

As much as I loved these characters and the story at hand was well-told, the style the filmmakers were going for was not utilized enough in my opinion. For such a simple premise, the crazy sequences sprinkled throughout the film were clearly meant to be fun and overdone on purpose. Sadly, everything I saw in the trailers is pretty much all I got from the final product. It never takes this great style and amplifies it, which made it seem like they were too afraid to push it too far. I would have walked out absolutely loving this film if they decided to go all in on the over-the-top stuff.

Polite Society is a great showcase for both Kansara and Khanna. I have not seen them perform much on-screen, but I will gladly watch any project they are attached to. Their chemistry with one another was infectious and their characters were also very well-written. I commend Nida Manzoor for both writing and directing this film, seeing as I believe the story and characters were very good, but I just wish she took bigger chances visually. Due to the fact that I believe this film did not reach its fullest potential, I will not say you have to rush out and see it in theatres, but I think it is more than good enough to eventually spend your time watching it once it is streaming. Polite Society is now playing in theatres.

Greetings again from the darkness. If you have ever wondered what it might look like if Quentin Tarantino consulted on a modernized Pakistani version of Jane Austen ... well, writer-director Nida Manzoor shows us (with no actual assistance from QT), including stylized martial arts, class warfare, and an obsession with a stuntwoman career. It's Ms. Manzoor's first feature film (she created the TV series "We are Lady Parts") and she presents an extremely creative film with a balance of silly and dark themes that proves immensely entertaining.

Relative newcomer Priya Kansara stars as Ria, a private school student highly determined to achieve her goal of becoming a working stuntwoman. She remains laser-focused on this despite her teacher and parents laughing off such nonsense and re-directing her towards becoming a doctor. Ria also adores her older sister Lena (Rita Arya), although worried about her since she recently dropped out of art school and seems to be rudderless in life.

Things change quickly for everyone once rich mama's boy/doctor Salim (Akshay Khanna) begins courting Lena. Ria senses things aren't right with the relationship and is also convinced that Lena should resume her dreams of being artist, rather than being pursued by the handsome, rich, too-good-to-be-true suitor. Ria and her best friends Clara (Seraphina Beh) and Alba (Ella Bruccoleri) scheme to undercut the relationship, but they are no match for Salim's mother (a terrific Nimra Bucha), who sports the best evil Grinch grin you've ever seen.

Director Manzoor divides the film into five chapters: A tale of two sisters, EID Soiree, Operation Wife Hunter, Assault on Shah mansion, and The Wedding. Each chapter offers comedy and action, and a matching of Ria's wits and instincts against the plans and beliefs of others. Ms. Kansara impresses as an upstart female Jackie Chan with superior acting chops. She executes the physical martial arts sequences beautifully, yet also shows promise in the quieter, more intimate moments when emoting and dialogue matter. She is certainly one to watch ... as is filmmaker Nida Manzoor. Anyone who can entertain at this level deserves the opportunity to do so as frequently as possible.

Opening in theaters on April 28, 2023.

After having watched the trailer a loooooooong time ago, now that it's on streaming, I finally got around to watching this very entertaining, slightly over-the-top, action-comedy.

Ria Khan (younger sister) wants to be a stuntwoman in an ethnic household in Britain and thinks her elder sister's wedding is being rushed, therefore is sus.

This film is the perfect kind of crazy and quirky for a lazy background content that I actually enjoyed (stopped grading papers and paid attention) more than I thought I would; didn't think this was for me, but I didn't mind it at all.

Even if you can't relate to the angsty-teenager or to the sisterly chemistry in the film, (you can perhaps relate to the cultural upbringing and the pressures that come along with it) it's still fun and surely worth a one-time watch. I'd surely watch it again with someone who's not watched it and I think I'll still enjoy it.