Kal Penn is hilarious, the first 15 minutes they show his little predicament and his acting and comedic presence is awesome, but after that the story is about Sunil Malhotra, hes that lacky from 'American desi' and his acting is horrible, the storyline is also very formula and unexciting, lisa rey is hot, but her beauty is ruined by the cliché lines she has to say ... its all very predictable, i can say as an ABCD ... but kal penn ... his 15 minutes.. great ... cant wait for 'Namesake' ... a good lisa rey movie would be 'Bollywood Hollywood' thats isn't formula, thats a good indo-American movie about the pressures of arranged marriage... rent that...
12 Reviews
Good for what it is
Der_Schnibbler22 July 2006
Fans of Bollywood: do not come to this movie expecting the lavish sets, dazzling choreography, or even catchy tunes to which you are accustomed. There is no singing in this film, and the dancing which takes place in the beginning, well... let's say you'll be glad when it's over.
The film follows the typical Bollywood-type love story, except it is set in the States. The actors are decent, engaging in a fair amount of slapstick in the beginning which is nicely carried out so as not to drag the film into too much silliness.
If you don't have very high expectations and are willing to relax and laugh at a few silly gags for an hour and a half, this film will not disappoint. It is fun, cute, and all the other things movies of its kind are supposed to be, even if not the best of the lot.
Those who'd throw a fit over this film being bad obviously had no idea what such a production is supposed to be about. If you are one of them, approach with caution: this is a super-corny romantic comedy.
As far as those who were left dumbfounded by the plot... perhaps the simple chain of events made too many demands on them. Ignore.
Have fun watching!
The film follows the typical Bollywood-type love story, except it is set in the States. The actors are decent, engaging in a fair amount of slapstick in the beginning which is nicely carried out so as not to drag the film into too much silliness.
If you don't have very high expectations and are willing to relax and laugh at a few silly gags for an hour and a half, this film will not disappoint. It is fun, cute, and all the other things movies of its kind are supposed to be, even if not the best of the lot.
Those who'd throw a fit over this film being bad obviously had no idea what such a production is supposed to be about. If you are one of them, approach with caution: this is a super-corny romantic comedy.
As far as those who were left dumbfounded by the plot... perhaps the simple chain of events made too many demands on them. Ignore.
Have fun watching!
A movie that's neither a comedy or about hooking up.
mattbox527 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Dear Audiences of America, As you sift through your video stores you may come across this film. "Ball and Chain: A Comedy about Hooking Up" it advertises on the DVD case. You see Kal Penn (the guy from Harold and Kumar) and some other Indian dude on the cover staring at a skirt and think, "Oh man, I love teen comedies+Kal Penn, "teh" r0xors!" You would be wrong. Despite the spine depicting a girl in a bikini, this movie is nothing that it says it is. It's about arranged marriages. It's a predictable romantic movie at that. Guy meets girl. Girl hates Guy. Parents try to get the to get married. They try to break it apart. They fall in love but now the weddings off and the girl's fathers looking for other husbands. How does it end? Well there is an elephant. But believe me it doesn't help.
Seriously though, if you have an open mind this movie is so bad that it's entertaining. It was funny when it wasn't supposed to be funny. Just don't expect what it tells you to expect. Sneaky Marketers.
Seriously though, if you have an open mind this movie is so bad that it's entertaining. It was funny when it wasn't supposed to be funny. Just don't expect what it tells you to expect. Sneaky Marketers.
Watch it if you are a big fan of Lisa Ray, otherwise please don't.
sajib_mmc9 April 2013
Watch it if you are a big fan of Lisa Ray, as I did. But in the end, I had the feeling, what a shameful waste of time. What a disgrace!!! Very much predictable story. You can sort the whole movie out just after watching only 15 minutes. Horrible acting by most of the characters except Kal Penn. But he is not the lead actor in the movie. Sunil Malhotra, the lead actor did a horrible job. He has no sense of acting. Asrani couldn't accommodate himself, I think. And Purva Bedi!!! What she was doing!!! Even Lisa Ray hadn't much to do. Only cliché dialogs. But as usual, she was looking hot and gorgeous. If you like her so much, you may watch this melodramatic disaster.
Horrible, horrible movie. DO NOT WATCH IT, JUST READ MY SUMMARY
thismovieissobad20 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This movie was just absolutely horrible. I live in Canada, and it cost my friends and I $5.91 to rent this movie. I wish I had bought some rat poison instead. Before I get any deeper into the movie, I want to tell everyone about the votings: there were so many 10's, I couldn't believe it. It MUST be true that they just got extras to vote. My friends and I actually FAST-FORWARDED through 2/3's of the movie because it was so crappy. Anyways: on to the movie, with obvious *******SPOILERS********* not that it matters, I would've saved you money and time.
Basically, this movie has 2 separate plots: One of the Indian guy from harold and kumar being forced into an arranged marriage with a chick with braces, the other of some guy loving this girl with a very traditionally Indian father. These 2 plot lines are completely unrelated except that the main character from both plot lines are both friends and both work at a gay fashion club. (not kidding).
Kumar's story line disappears halfway through the movie and I don't think we ever see him again. He just... disappears.
The other guy ends up marrying the girl of his dreams.
Throughout the movie, there are weird meaningless interjections. For example, in one part of the movie where the female protagonist is talking with her suppressive dad, the camera keeps panning over to this Indian show her father is watching of two guys in festive gold plating talking to each other. we literally see about 2 minutes of the show her dad is watching, while talking to her daughter in a non-chalant and far-off manner.
For future reference to the people who have worked on this movie, please try to give movies a PLOT, and COHERENCE, so your audience actually knows what the hell is going on.
Basically, this movie has 2 separate plots: One of the Indian guy from harold and kumar being forced into an arranged marriage with a chick with braces, the other of some guy loving this girl with a very traditionally Indian father. These 2 plot lines are completely unrelated except that the main character from both plot lines are both friends and both work at a gay fashion club. (not kidding).
Kumar's story line disappears halfway through the movie and I don't think we ever see him again. He just... disappears.
The other guy ends up marrying the girl of his dreams.
Throughout the movie, there are weird meaningless interjections. For example, in one part of the movie where the female protagonist is talking with her suppressive dad, the camera keeps panning over to this Indian show her father is watching of two guys in festive gold plating talking to each other. we literally see about 2 minutes of the show her dad is watching, while talking to her daughter in a non-chalant and far-off manner.
For future reference to the people who have worked on this movie, please try to give movies a PLOT, and COHERENCE, so your audience actually knows what the hell is going on.
what nonsense!!
ankitkaramchandani30 March 2006
the movie is a foolish compilation of absurd events leading to nonsensical ending.It starts with a fashion show,but the lead actor turns out to be a computer professional.From the very moment it starts it makes no sense,whatsoever.The hero's closest friend is married to a female with dental casts,who looks like she could could scare a lot of kids even in wide daylight.Mythological serials??Who likes those ramanuj sagar sagas anyways,such stereotyping is sick man.Its shitty from the starting,and foolish by the time it reaches its end.the movie is so irritating that it makes me want to pull all my hair out.I mean I reached a point when I felt,okk it couldn't get any worse ,but man the director proved me wrong hands down,just keeps getting worse and worse and still worse.The only thing good about th movie was miss Lisa ray's cleavage,ohhhhhhhhhhhhh man that lady would drive the living daylights out of me,I generally don't watch a movie just for a pretty lady,hence even for all her aphrodite's beauty,the movie is a big time looser.Sheer nonsense.nothing less nothing more.
A romantic comedy, where eastern culture is prevalent in the west.
spunge4116 August 2003
This film is a funny romantic comedy about Indian arranged marriage, with a cast that is very easy to like. I know this topic has been hit on many times, but this is different. The stereotypes in this picture are played with realism. Its about Ameet (Sunil Malhotra) and Saima( Lisa Rey), and their respective families wanting them to joined in marital bliss and the trials and tribulations that go into courting.
I found Sunil's performance to be quite natural, the film was bright and colorful... very easy on the eyes, and Lisa Ray looked stunning.
Kal Penn and Purva Bedi really added to the films funny bone.
After seeing this film i couldn't help but be impressed with how far filmmaking has come in this genre. I left the screening with a smile and a feeling that i just saw something really fresh and creative.
I found Sunil's performance to be quite natural, the film was bright and colorful... very easy on the eyes, and Lisa Ray looked stunning.
Kal Penn and Purva Bedi really added to the films funny bone.
After seeing this film i couldn't help but be impressed with how far filmmaking has come in this genre. I left the screening with a smile and a feeling that i just saw something really fresh and creative.
One of the worst movies ever.
zimka31 October 2006
I couldn't care less about the arranged marriages and this film has done NOTHING for me, to change my perception.
In fact, this film is bad in a worst possible way - instead of watching it and following the plot and the characters, the viewer has to endure a torture of deciding what aspect of the film was done the worst.
The dialog is absolutely unrealistic ans is delivered as if it was read from the cue cards by people with bad sight (they pause before almost every sentence). The music is distractingly secondary punctuated, again, by the bad dialog. The pacing is the worst of all, though. I swear, I was ready to kill myself watching this slow bore and didn't do so, because I wanted to see how far it will go into rotten territory. Overall, I'd blame all of the faults on director. He should not be allowed before the camera ever again.
The only saving grace is the acting. Again, it was pretty painful to see that the actors actually ARE GOOD, but subjected to spit out the garbage they are given.
Don't bother. Really. One of the worst movies ever made. Seriously.
In fact, this film is bad in a worst possible way - instead of watching it and following the plot and the characters, the viewer has to endure a torture of deciding what aspect of the film was done the worst.
The dialog is absolutely unrealistic ans is delivered as if it was read from the cue cards by people with bad sight (they pause before almost every sentence). The music is distractingly secondary punctuated, again, by the bad dialog. The pacing is the worst of all, though. I swear, I was ready to kill myself watching this slow bore and didn't do so, because I wanted to see how far it will go into rotten territory. Overall, I'd blame all of the faults on director. He should not be allowed before the camera ever again.
The only saving grace is the acting. Again, it was pretty painful to see that the actors actually ARE GOOD, but subjected to spit out the garbage they are given.
Don't bother. Really. One of the worst movies ever made. Seriously.
poor acting and overall a bore
alam-laptop2 September 2006
has a few minutes at the beginning which are worth a laugh, but other than that if you have absolutely nothing else to watch and this DVD was lying around , only then consider it. the plot is quite stupid and believe me i know about Asian cultures.
the acting from all the cast is poor except Kal Penn...that guy's talent was wasted. seriously....the only redeeming feature for me was the stunning and voluptuous Lisa ray. looking at her made it bearable watchable it. (ps. i am not talking about her acting talents) it was a classic b ..no c or d (if there was such a category)movie, which is not even worth being shown on TV. straight on to DVD and then into oblivion. give it a miss people
the acting from all the cast is poor except Kal Penn...that guy's talent was wasted. seriously....the only redeeming feature for me was the stunning and voluptuous Lisa ray. looking at her made it bearable watchable it. (ps. i am not talking about her acting talents) it was a classic b ..no c or d (if there was such a category)movie, which is not even worth being shown on TV. straight on to DVD and then into oblivion. give it a miss people
Funny for the first hour! Then forget about the rest...
kaneelschep4 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
OK.. I just had to comment.. This movie is quite as the previous commenter sais. It definitely offers much to laugh about and I really enjoy this kind of humour! First hour. Great stuff! But then. Around the 1 hour mark the fun just dies out and the non-communication begins. And I just got more and more annoyed of the girl just not opening her mouth for once in stead of staring into the horizon and doing what daddy wants. And yeah this is the typical thing to happen in an arranged marriage/listen to your daddy/all will be good in the end kind of sort of Bollywood movie.. But it just seemed to me that that was the ONLY reason they made it to an hour-thirty. That spoiled it for me.. I skipped through the last 30 minutes in 5 minutes and forgot about it.. Which was a shame, since the first hour was.. Well.., Good.
Funniii Stuff
sandhya5661 July 2006
I thought this movie was hilarious... yeah it was stupid funny but i mean who doesn't like a good laugh every now and then. There were parts in the movie that dragged but i thought it was a great movie in case ur bored or genuinely want to see a good Indian/American comedy.
People who are dissing this movie is because they have no sense of humor. Stop taking the culture so seriously, we all know we do some stupid things no matter where we're from. So stop hating and start appreciating that some film maker actually came and made a movie about you guyz.
I would go out and rent it if i were u!...cuz then u wud be missing out on a night of pure fun.
People who are dissing this movie is because they have no sense of humor. Stop taking the culture so seriously, we all know we do some stupid things no matter where we're from. So stop hating and start appreciating that some film maker actually came and made a movie about you guyz.
I would go out and rent it if i were u!...cuz then u wud be missing out on a night of pure fun.
Please read this Review!
kristina_shatskaya16 January 2008
Just a few words to review this Oscar worthy film, well not really, but it is genuinely good laugh and a very warm-hearted film. Please ignore all the uninspiring reviews and Watch It! It actually comes from some of the best french producers Europe has given birth to. :-)
I happen to have met him once in Harrods and the guy is Hot as hell. Not to say about his sharp intelligence and witty sense of humour.
I could have given this movie more points if i could! And note am voting for the film not taking into consideration my great admiration for the producer. Though it is hard to be objective once meeting him. :-)
I happen to have met him once in Harrods and the guy is Hot as hell. Not to say about his sharp intelligence and witty sense of humour.
I could have given this movie more points if i could! And note am voting for the film not taking into consideration my great admiration for the producer. Though it is hard to be objective once meeting him. :-)
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