Meet Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron), a narcissistic 30-something ghost-writer of the Waverly Prep young adult book series. She may have escaped small town mediocrity by moving to the big city, but her life isn’t going quite as well as she would’ve hoped; she drinks too much, her marriage has fallen apart, her series is being cancelled, and she is struggling with a deadline to finish her latest novel. So when an unexpected email about the birth of her ex-boyfriend Buddy’s (Patrick Wilson) daughter makes its way to her inbox, it hits a nerve and sets the action rolling.

“Can you imagine still living in Mercury” she asks a friend, “trapped with a wife and a kid and some crappy job? It’s like...it’s like he’s a hostage,” she declares about Buddy, and thereby sets off on a self-assigned mission to rescue him. He may be happily married and content with his life, but that is clearly irrelevant. So back she goes to her hometown, and thus begins her quest to win back her high school sweetheart.

To say that Mavis has issues would be an understatement, and on hand to tell her just that is former classmate Matt (Patton Oswalt), a geek who became partially disabled after being beaten by jocks in high school. She barely remembers who he is when she runs into him after arriving in town, but he eventually becomes her unlikely confidant, and their odd relationship grows as the movie progresses.

As its oddball characters cross orbits, Young Adult spins an awkwardly riveting web. The film is an exploration of a character with no redemptive qualities, and while Mavis might be a wreck, she is still strangely mesmerising. A portrait of what happens to the beauty queens who graduated high school but her attitude never did, Mavis is still clinging on to the past, has a slew of bad habits, and her lack of self-awareness is appalling, but her persona makes for an interesting case study.

Young Adult reunites screenwriter Diablo Cody (Brook Busey) and director Jason Reitman, the duo that paired up to create the critically acclaimed Juno. Reitman has established himself with films such as Thank You for Smoking and Up in the Air, and with projects like Juno and United States of Tara, Cody has displayed her knack for creating unusual characters and enveloping them in humour. In this case, however, the premise might have been set up as a dark comedy, but the film’s comedic undertones are buried under a layer of awkwardness. You might find yourself questioning the plausibility of some of the characters’ motivations, and the lack of redemption for the protagonist might exhaust your supply of patience. But even if that happens, what will keep you from giving up on the film is the performance of its lead actors. Both Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt are the movie’s biggest assets; their performances are right on the mark, and they bring their broken and damaged characters to life with expert precision.

Overall, Young Adult isn’t as immediate as the project its filmmakers are known for. It is an understated, cynical piece that explores the life of an unlikable character and its ideas take some time to process, but it is helped immensely by the performances of its cast, especially Charlize Theron who keeps you watching as the craziness explodes and the façade of the perfect life comes undone.

– Sameen Amer

*CINEMATIC SUICIDE
**FORGETTABLE
***WATCHABLE
****COLLECTIBLE
*****AWARD-WORTHY

Housefull 2***
*ing: Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Asin, John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez, Shreyas Talpade, Shazahn Padamsee, Zarine Khan, Chunky Pandey, Boman Irani, Mithun Chakraborty, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, and Johnny Lever
Directed by Sajid Khan
Tagline: The Dirty Dozen


Director Sajid Khan is known for his comedic roots. Before he created the now-successful and money-spinning franchise of Housefull, he arrived on the scene with the hugely successful comedy film Hey Babyy. Then came Housefull with its colourful songs, a wicked sense of humour and Sajid’s favourite actor Akshay Kumar running the show. With Housefull 2, Sajid Khan has delivered his third consecutive hit as a filmmaker and the second highest grossing film of 2012 (on the Indian box office) after the mammoth hit Agneepath.
One reason why the film is turning out to be such a draw is because of its massive and glamourous cast, all of whom seem to be supporting each other with this project. In the new installment, we see some of the old faces - Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Chunky Pandey and Boman Irani - as well as newcomers like Asin, John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez, Shreyas Talpade, Shazahn Padamsee, Zarine Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, and Johnny Lever. Obviously, the scale of the film is bigger than its predecessor and the only factors Sajid Khan has emphasized on are fun and entertainment. He makes the audience laugh and leave the cinema with strong memories of his movies. Housefull 2 is no different.
The film belongs to the romcom genre with an old school plot we’ve already seen before in films like No Entry, Welcome, and Golmaal franchise. To some, this genre might sound senseless and outrageous. These types of movies can simply be called low IQ comedies and while they do tend to find an audience, it must be said that they are probably not everyone’s cup of tea. However, as long as people are entertained, they hardly care about anything else including the plotlines or lack thereof. And that is perhaps why Housefull 2 is doing so well with audiences everywhere.

The movie tells the story of four fathers (Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Boman Irani) who want their daughters (Asin, Jacqueline Fernandez, Shazahn Padamsee and Zarine Khan) to get married to the richest boys in the land. The fathers are introduced to four prospective son-in-laws, one of whom is Jolly (Ritesh Deshmukh) and he really is rich. A hilarious and somewhat prolonged sequence sees all four guys pretending to be Jolly. As the film progresses, the confusion only grows.

Housefull 2 has quite a few songs, choreographed to Bollywood perfection. These songs added some pretty special feel-good moments to the film. In fact, the music and colourful dances were so appealing that they became a personal high point for me.

Housefull 2 is a through and through comedy film, laced with witty one-liners and jokes. If you are one of those people who isn’t interested in logic, then this film serves its purpose as a complete entertainment package. However, a warning for those who prefer logical films, this one is purely a commercial entertainer, logic has little place in the film.

In the first half, there are some scenes like a crocodile biting Riteish and another one in which a snake is biting John… they are incredibly funny and had the audience rolling in their seats with laughter. The most repeated thing in the movie was to prove that illegitimate babies are totally fine these days. In one scene, Randhir Kapoor says, “Illegal babies are made of love rather than the legal ones which are just in form of a duty”. This was not exactly funny. What are the filmmakers trying to teach the audience?

While the film, which runs just over two hours is essentially a comedy, not all jokes worked. Some were so lame that one simply ignored them.

The music by Sajid-Wajid added an extra edge to the film with songs such as ‘Papa To Band Bajaye’, ‘Right Now Now’ and ‘Anarkali’.

As far as the acting is concerned, comedy has always been Akshay’s genre and he delivers the goods once again. The other actor who shone in the film was John Abraham. Having worked in films like Dostana and Garam Masala, John’s comedic timing has improved tremendously. He is now a much better as an actor and it shows in Housefull 2. His acting will make you laugh. The other two boys - Riteish Deshmukh and Shreyas Talpade - have become stereotyped with comedy. In Housefull 2, they are both strictly adequate; it’s almost as if you’ve seen them do this before.

Among the female actors who held their own in this star-studded film were Asin and Jacqueline Fernandez.
Asin is just a few films old in Bollywood but she’s getting better with every film. Even Jacqueline was fairly decent when you consider the fact that this was her first comedy film.

The other two actresses, namely Shazahn Padamsee and Zarine Khan, hardly had enough screentime to perform. It’s as if they were used as props.

Two actors worth mentioning include the Kapoor brothers (Rishi and Randhir) who were excellent in their respective roles. They are very experienced which is why it comes as no surprise that they were outstanding. And despite a small role in the film, Boman Irani held the audience captivate to the point that many in the audience were trying to imitate him.

Over all, Housefull 2 is ta comedy that people will want to watch and it can be watched if we keep our minds open to the jokes that they offer and don’t focus too much on logic and story.

— Faiz Rohani