Extraordinary_Machine

Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee

Three thirty-something women, friends since childhood, are desperate to find their own happy endings, but wonder if they really are content when they eventually find them. Chila (Ayesha Dharker) couldn't have a better life ahead of her after marrying the Prince Charming of Chigwell, Deepak (Ace Bhatti), but are they really in love with each other, or did they only do what they thought they should do? Sunita (Meera Syal) is a seemingly perfect wife and mother, but her relationship with her husband Akaash (Sanjeev Bhaskar) lost its spark long ago. Tania (Laila Rouass) is a hard-nosed up-and-coming television filmmaker who refuses to be viewed as an Asian, but when she is asked to make a documentary about her friends and family, what she finds ends up uncovering some uncomfortable home truths about everyone concerned. These women may have to learn the hard way that "life isn't all ha ha hee hee".

Multiple threat Meera Syal has had a successful career as a comedienne over the last few years, which makes her foray into drama with 'Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee' all the more surprising. To be honest, I've grown exhausted with Syal's continual lampooning of Indian stereotypes in her hit show "Goodness Gracious Me", and while it's inoffensive, there's always a feeling that only a fraction of Syal's writing and acting talent is on display. In 2002, with the news that she was adapting her excellent novel 'Anita and Me' for the big screen, there came a promise that Syal would finally reveal to the world what lay beyond her grating Mrs. Kumar persona. Sadly, 'Anita and Me' was a deflated experience, with the balance of cheeriness and seriousness being bungled pretty badly by director Metin Hüseyin. Syal wasn't entirely to blame, as the short running time and family-friendly nature of the film undoubtedly played a part in forcing her to rip out large chunks of her award-winning book. For her latest project, though, Syal has been blessed with the luxury of a three-hour running time, and a skilled director (Andy De Emmony), who injects less style than was present in 'Anita and Me', but accomplishes far more than Hüseyin ever could.

On paper, and sometimes on screen too, 'Ha Ha Hee Hee' almost resembles an intentional follow-up to 'Anita and Me', not just in terms of the acting pedigree of the picture, but the storyline as well. Syal (co-writing with Abi Morgan, 'Sex Traffic') once again delights in displaying the quirks and charms of Indian culture, with the ethnicity of the characters adding a touch of spice to a straightforward dramedy. But at the same time, the focus of Syal's story (which, like 'Anita and Me', is loosely based on her own experiences) reminds us that Asian women are just like anybody else, without ever preaching it from the metaphorical rooftop. In fact, Syal's commentary on the state of "British Asian, Anglo-Indian or whatever they're calling us" relationships seems to be an inadvertent by-product of the dramatic can of worms she has opened. I'm sure many white women could relate to Chila, Tania and Sunita, and their respective plights will remain an interest for everybody else as well. 'Ha Ha Hee Hee' isn't all tears and gloom, however, as there's plenty of opportunity for Syal to implement her comedic writing skills. Despite it all, it's quite an entertaining piece of work, and little of the humour is forced the way it was in her previous adaptation. Both enjoyable and touching at the same time, 'Ha Ha Hee Hee' is watchable from beginning to end. You just couldn't say that about 'Anita and Me'.

There's also a tremendous amount of help from the performances, which are easily commendable. Once you get past the number of returning faces from 'Anita and Me', it becomes difficult to distinguish actor from character. The supporting performers do as they're told, but expectedly, it's the three stars of the production who carry the spirit of 'Ha Ha Hee Hee' along. Actress Laila Rouass (of "Footballers' Wives" fame) is faced with some pretty dastardly deeds that her character ends up doing, but instead of hate for Tania, Rouass manages to summon feelings of pity for her. As the maturest of the group, Sunita has slightly fewer problems going on in her life, but Syal makes the character just as memorable, infusing her with the actress's natural charm. Shockingly, it's not Syal herself who steals the show, but actress Ayesha Dharker. With wide eyes and an even wider smile, Dharker becomes every part the doting but neglected wife (a breakthrough role, I'm sure), and has her share of scene-stealing moments, especially during the third and final part of the series. It's a good thing, too, as Chila is in some ways more crucial to the plot than the other two women.

For all its virtues, 'Ha Ha Hee Hee' concludes a little predictably, and there's a feeling that Syal decided to play it safer than she wanted to. But it's still executed with a bittersweet smile by everybody, and it should prove difficult to not be saddened as farewells are bid to Sunita and the rest. As the optimistic Chila observes about life in general, 'Ha Ha Hee Hee' isn't really about the ending, but a million little surprises all of the way through. It's far from the best drama or comedy around, and is certainly not as noteworthy as the similar (albeit much less realistic) "Desperate Housewives", but it's nice to have relatable characters and situations presented on screen in a light enough way...innit?

~ 8/10 ~

Thank the Lords of Kobol for the new and improved "Battlestar Galactica"! Without a doubt, this miniseries, along with the full series spin-off from 2004, must be among the greatest works of science fiction to come to television screens in the last few years. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that it's one of the best things on TV at the moment. If you loved the mini, you'll love the series also, but I'll probably always like the mini more, simply because it's the start of the story. In three hours, this accomplished more than the original did in twenty-four hour-long episodes (plus the six of "Galactica 1980", but the less said about that the better). It's just breathtaking. The characterisations are far more convincing than before, the direction is slick (and covers up the low budget extremely well), and most of all, it's involving, which is a word I wouldn't use to describe the original. This isn't a "Star Trek" rip-off like the original borrowed from 'Star Wars' (although Ronald D. Moore has helped out on "Star Trek" on many occasions), it goes very far in developing its own ideas and themes. The acting is excellent, from Edward James Olmos to Tricia Helfer, and everybody in between.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith

As the Clone Wars continue, General Grievous (voiced by Matthew Wood) launches a daring attack on the planet of Coruscant, and kidnaps Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his long-time apprentice and friend, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), successfully rescue Palpatine, who rewards Anakin by making him his official representative on the Jedi Council. But Anakin soon realises that all is not well with the council members, who instead order him to spy on Palpatine. He is also plagued by disturbing visions of his beloved wife, Padmé (Natalie Portman), and fears for her safety in these uncertain times. As he is torn between what he feels is right and the people he loves, he must decide whether or not he must stand alongside his fellow Jedi, or succumb to the Dark Side of the Force forever.

In my eyes, the original trilogy of 'Star Wars' can hardly be considered classics, but they were enjoyable and lively enough to cause a monumental letdown when the long-awaited first two chapters of George Lucas's seminal space opera were released years later. 1999's 'The Phantom Menace' had all the elements to make another great entry in the franchise, but the film was just lacking in the energy so abundant in the first three instalments. In some ways, 'Attack of the Clones' was even worse, not completely mauling the series, but pissing on its legacy with its bloated cornucopia of cartoon-ish special effects, poor pacing and dull acting. If it took George Lucas two whole films to see through the gravy and realise that the same formula can't work all the time, then 'Revenge of the Sith' almost makes the other two prequels forgivable. Maybe it's the lack of expectation from this film that it actually surprises, or maybe George Lucas really did get around to pulling his pants up, but whatever the reason, 'Revenge of the Sith' ranks right up there with the original trilogy.

It doesn't start out that way, though. I'd be hard-pressed not to feel waves of nostalgia as the John Williams theme booms and the opening scrawl rolls up the screen, but when the film starts, one might fear that Lucas has failed once again in his efforts to wash the spirit of the originals over the audience. The opening sequences are a marvellous spectacle to behold, realised greatly by ILM's team (in their best ever work on the prequels), but hardly involve the feelings like, say, the attack on the Death Star in 'A New Hope'. However, later in the film, once the pieces start moving around the board to get into position in time for the next entry, you will sure to be hooked. 'Revenge of the Sith' is probably the darkest 'Star Wars' film to date, even after 'The Empire Strikes Back'.

And so the saga is now complete.

~ 8/10 ~