Farah Goes Bang

Greetings again from the darkness. This feature film debut from writer/director Meera Menon and co-writer Laura Goode played Tribeca in 2013, as well as a few others on the film festival circuit since. It takes only a few minutes before it's clear that Ms. Menon has no inhibitions about displaying the human side of women.

Three friends decide to hit the road in support of Senator John Kerry in his 2004 Presidential campaign against George Bush. These early 20-somethings are bright, idealistic and seeking a cause … they call the Iraqi war "our Vietnam", and characterize Kerry as the closest thing they have to Bobby Kennedy. Getting Kerry elected may be their first mission, but Roopa (Kiran Deol) and KJ (Kandis Erickson) also have a second mission of making sure their friend Farah (Nikohl Boosheri) loses her virginity (they use a much more colorful colloquialism).

A road trip from Los Angeles to the hotly contested political environment of Ohio offers a few interesting characters along the way: a rude redneck, a thoughtful conservative veteran, and an energetic and opinionated transgender. It also allows the three friends plenty of time for heavy drinking (sometimes until they hurl), pot smoking (to test the alarm), brawling (more than once), exceedingly colorful language, and the expulsion of bodily gas. That's right … all the things we have come to expect from a road trip movie featuring guys are presented in full female glory. Plus as an added bonus, we get numerous scenes revolving around the ongoing challenges of Persian women's grooming habits.

Racism and sexism are touched upon, but mostly this movie is about friendship. Unfortunately, the story bounces from comedic to ultra-serious and we only get brief flashes of the girls' backstories … all of which could have added depth to the film. It seemingly takes forever to get to the core of KJ's anger-management issues, and Farah's hang-ups with doing the deed make a bit more sense once we understand her family story.

It's impressive to see how Ms. Menon brings out the human side in her three leads, and each of the actresses boldly goes "there" to show the connection to each other. On the downside, somehow both the political play and the virginity device (complete with fireworks) come across as annoyances that distract from watching how three real friends interact with each other. Future Menon films will undoubtedly fulfill the promise only teased at by her debut.

I screened Meera Menon's 1st feature film at the Tribeca Film Festival and was very impressed. Farah Goes Bang is like Route 66 meets the vagina monologues, complete with a witty script, great music, and a story of political idealism coming crashing down in the face of reality. Farah (Nikohl Boosheri) & her two friends from California, KJ (Kandis Erickson) and Roopa (Kiran Deol) travel to Ohio during the 2004 US Presidential election to campaign for Senator John Kerry. Ignoring the advice of organizers, the threesome test their campaign skills with stops in Amarillo, Texas and Flagstaff, Arizona. The result is some hilarious exchanges and racist incidents in the non-swing states. Reporting for duty in Ohio, they stay at KJ's family cottage, where she has fond memories spending time with her brother Ryan, who was killed in Iraq. We of course know the outcome of this race, but Farah has another goal to lose her virginity, and the film nicely captures these 20-something dynamics. Kandis Erickson turns in a brilliant 1st time acting performance as KJ. The script and dialogue move the film along at a nice pace, and the score complements a great story. The film is Menon's directorial debut and the film shows an amazing appreciation of the craft.