Two childhood friends now in their thirties must decide whether to follow their heads or their hearts once the man decides to follow his parents' advice and enter into an arranged marriage in Pakistan.
Lily James
Zoe
Shazad Latif
Kazim Khan
Shabana Azmi
Aisha Khan
Emma Thompson
Cath
Sajal Ali
Maymouna
Oliver Chris
James
Asim Chaudhry
Mo the Matchmaker
Jeff Mirza
Zahid Khan
Alice Orr-Ewing
Helena
Mim Shaikh
Farooq Khan
Iman Boujelouah
Yasmin Khan
Pakiza Baig
Nani Jan Khan
Alexander Owen
Olly
Ben Ashenden
Sam
Sindhu Vee
Fertility Doctor
Taj Atwal
Sumaira
Michael Marcus
David
Shaheen Khan
Maymouna's Mother
Haqi Ali
Maymouna's Father
Peter Sandys-Clarke
Harry
Ravi Aujla
Yousef
Wasim Zakir
Ali
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Self
Nosheen Phoenix
Pucci
Nikkita Chadha
Baby
Katie Anjuli Singh
Binky
Jamal Andreas
Taqi
Shannon Shanthakumar
Hajra
Munir Khairdin
Tailor
Adil Akram
Shopkeeper
Director
Shekhar Kapur
Writer
Jemima Khan
March 26, 2023
6
If you remember "Last Christmas" (2019) then you will have a rough idea of what to expect here with this rather formulaic, if colourful, drama. It all centres around a film being made by "Zoe" (Lily James) about the forthcoming "assisted" marriage of her lifelong friend "Kaz" (Shazad Latif). Her mother "Cath" (Dame Emma Thompson) lives next door to his family and so is relishing the family trip to Pakistan for the traditional wedding. "Zoe" is (as, I suspect, are we) pretty sceptical of the whole arrangement - getting married to someone you've only met on Skype, but proceed we do through a lively ceremony that allows Dame Emma to don her sari and dance for all she is worth (gin-fuelled!) whilst the predictable love triangle melodrama slowly, but predictably, plays out. It all comes to an head when they have returned home and she shows her film to all concerned and, just like this, it receives mixed and divisive reviews. I found this all very twee, middle class and vaguely judgmental which after a while I felt rather defeated the purpose in the first place. It is pretty clear from the start what is going to happen, and although the route to that conclusion isn't exactly a straight line, this leaves very little room for jeopardy to a plot you can see from Mars. Latif has a degree of charm to him, and some of the scenes with Lily James are quite engaging in a cheesy sort of way, but for the most part this is eminently forgettable fayre that will do fine on telly at Christmas.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$10,898,395.00