WEDDING SEASON

(director: Tom Dey; screenwriter: Shiwani Srivastava; cinematographer: Meena Singh; editor: David L. Bertman; music: Jongnic Bontemps, Raashi Kulkarni; cast:  Pallavi Sharda (Asha), Suraj Sharma (Ravi), Arianna Afsar (Priva), Sean Kleier (Nick), Veena Sood (Suneeta), Manoj Sood (Dinesh), Sonia Dhillon Tully (Veena), Damian Thompson (James), Ruth Goodwin (Tina), Julius Cho (Yoshi), Rizwan Manji (Vijay); Runtime: 98; MPAA Rating: TV-PG; producers: Swati Shetty, Tony Hernandez, John Hodges; Netflix; 2022)

“A pleasant lightweight cliched rom-com.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A pleasant lightweight cliched rom-com about the adventures of a likeable young Indian-American couple who meet on the cute. The setting is Newark, New Jersey. It’s effectively directed by Tom Dey (“Marmaduke”/”Showtime”) and written by Shiwani Srivastava.

After matched up in the summer by their parents, who want their children married to one of their kind, Asha (Pallavi Sharda, an Indo-Australian actress) and Ravi (Suraj Sharma), fake dating each other to satisfy their demanding parents. But soon realize they have an attraction for each other and a real romance begins.

Asha is a thirtyish economist who holds down an important job at an Asian microloan investment fund. Her nagging mom (Veena Sood), lost her other younger daughter (Arianna Asfar) to a white doctor (Sean Kleier) and wants Asha to marry a brown-skin professional man. Ravi is over thirty, an MIT grad, works for a start-up company, is a childhood spelling bee champion and a nerd.

The slight story is filmed with just the right soft touch to be an easy watch, as the nice couple predictably make a love connection and the wedding sequence is colorful and tastefully done. 

REVIEWED ON 8/9/2022  GRADE: B