Blinded by the Light
1.5/4
Starring: Vivek Kalra, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Ganatra, Aaron Phagura, Dean-Charles Chapman, Nell Williams, Hayley Atwell
Rated PG-13 for Thematic Material and Language including Some Ethnic Slurs
I don't read horoscopes usually. But I was bored today and fingering through the paper and found mine. Among other things it said that I'll have an amazing day and have a "tell it like it is" attitude. I was actually kind of insulted since that is so often a way to cover one's self when called out for being a jerk. But here, it's warranted. This movie sucks. It's not interesting, it's not funny and the hero worship of Bruce Springsteen is obnoxious in its obsession. I half expected to see Springsteen as an executive producer.
In general, there are fans, there are cosplayers, and then there are MCU fans. And then there's Javed (Kalra), who believes that all problems can be solved and all of life's questions answered through the music of Bruce Springsteen. Actually, it didn't start out so rosily. Javed lives in a modest home with his parents and three sisters. Life is hard. His father Malike (Ghir) dictates everything that goes on under his roof, and believes that Javed's passion for writing is a waste of time. Not that Javed believes he has any skill as a writer anyway. Sure, he writes poems and song lyrics for his friend Matt (Chapman), but not even Matt takes him seriously. And there's always the risk of being beaten up by the local skinheads. Life changes when his friend Roops (Phagura) lends him tapes of Bruce Springsteen. Javed becomes an instant fan and suddenly has the courage to go for his dreams, become his own person and even ask out Eliza (Williams), the local hottie in his class.
It's nice to find music or a movie that speaks to you. When you watch a movie or hear a song that feels like it was made just for you, it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy. It happens to everyone in one way or another (how else does one explain why Seth Rogen keeps getting work?). But Javed's transformation and devotion to The Boss is so overblown that it is never believable. By hearing two cassettes from Springsteen, and suddenly he has everything figured out. Really?
Part of the reason for this is that Javed isn't a particularly interesting individual. Vivek Kalra isn't charismatic enough to hold our attention. In fact, he's such a dork and so obsessive that it becomes grating. He's the least interesting person in the film, and he's surrounded by walking, talking, clichés. The traditionalist father, the demure mother, the secretly liberated sibling, the worldly friend, the inspiring teacher, and so on. They're all here. They do their jobs adequately (especially Atwell and Williams), but they're characters we've seen in other, better movies.
The Brits have essentially cornered the market on feel good movies about the working class. "Billy Elliott," "Pride," "Saving Grace," the list goes on. Clearly, director Gurinder Chadha is trying to mind this territory. In fact, she already has done so with "Bend it Like Beckham" that turned Keira Knightly and Jonathan Rhys Meyers into stars. But here, she misses the mark. Badly. The film is too long, and the set-up is so bleak that it becomes overkill. Not only was I bored, I was depressed. Even after Javed hears Springsteen, Chadha continues to make missteps. Like how a run-in with the skinheads leads to a song-and-dance through the streets where everyone joins in in a decidedly non-musical like fashion. This scene is so badly handled that it belongs in an Ed Wood movie.
I was actually looking forward to this movie. The Earth is warming at an accelerated rate, the Amazon rainforest is on fire, Trump spreads his toxicity every chance he gets...I was in the mood for a feel-good experience. But "Blinded By the Light" just isn't it. I never bought into the lead character and that sinks the film. What a shame.
Starring: Vivek Kalra, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Ganatra, Aaron Phagura, Dean-Charles Chapman, Nell Williams, Hayley Atwell
Rated PG-13 for Thematic Material and Language including Some Ethnic Slurs
I don't read horoscopes usually. But I was bored today and fingering through the paper and found mine. Among other things it said that I'll have an amazing day and have a "tell it like it is" attitude. I was actually kind of insulted since that is so often a way to cover one's self when called out for being a jerk. But here, it's warranted. This movie sucks. It's not interesting, it's not funny and the hero worship of Bruce Springsteen is obnoxious in its obsession. I half expected to see Springsteen as an executive producer.
In general, there are fans, there are cosplayers, and then there are MCU fans. And then there's Javed (Kalra), who believes that all problems can be solved and all of life's questions answered through the music of Bruce Springsteen. Actually, it didn't start out so rosily. Javed lives in a modest home with his parents and three sisters. Life is hard. His father Malike (Ghir) dictates everything that goes on under his roof, and believes that Javed's passion for writing is a waste of time. Not that Javed believes he has any skill as a writer anyway. Sure, he writes poems and song lyrics for his friend Matt (Chapman), but not even Matt takes him seriously. And there's always the risk of being beaten up by the local skinheads. Life changes when his friend Roops (Phagura) lends him tapes of Bruce Springsteen. Javed becomes an instant fan and suddenly has the courage to go for his dreams, become his own person and even ask out Eliza (Williams), the local hottie in his class.
It's nice to find music or a movie that speaks to you. When you watch a movie or hear a song that feels like it was made just for you, it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy. It happens to everyone in one way or another (how else does one explain why Seth Rogen keeps getting work?). But Javed's transformation and devotion to The Boss is so overblown that it is never believable. By hearing two cassettes from Springsteen, and suddenly he has everything figured out. Really?
Part of the reason for this is that Javed isn't a particularly interesting individual. Vivek Kalra isn't charismatic enough to hold our attention. In fact, he's such a dork and so obsessive that it becomes grating. He's the least interesting person in the film, and he's surrounded by walking, talking, clichés. The traditionalist father, the demure mother, the secretly liberated sibling, the worldly friend, the inspiring teacher, and so on. They're all here. They do their jobs adequately (especially Atwell and Williams), but they're characters we've seen in other, better movies.
The Brits have essentially cornered the market on feel good movies about the working class. "Billy Elliott," "Pride," "Saving Grace," the list goes on. Clearly, director Gurinder Chadha is trying to mind this territory. In fact, she already has done so with "Bend it Like Beckham" that turned Keira Knightly and Jonathan Rhys Meyers into stars. But here, she misses the mark. Badly. The film is too long, and the set-up is so bleak that it becomes overkill. Not only was I bored, I was depressed. Even after Javed hears Springsteen, Chadha continues to make missteps. Like how a run-in with the skinheads leads to a song-and-dance through the streets where everyone joins in in a decidedly non-musical like fashion. This scene is so badly handled that it belongs in an Ed Wood movie.
I was actually looking forward to this movie. The Earth is warming at an accelerated rate, the Amazon rainforest is on fire, Trump spreads his toxicity every chance he gets...I was in the mood for a feel-good experience. But "Blinded By the Light" just isn't it. I never bought into the lead character and that sinks the film. What a shame.
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