All in Good Time (2012) starring Reece Ritchie, Amara Karan, Harish Patel, Meera Syal directed by Nigel Cole Movie Review

All in Good Time (2012)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Reece Ritchie and Amara Karan in All in Good Time (2012)

At Home with the Dutt's

Having been the loyal son all his life Atul Dutt (Reece Ritchie) believes his marriage to Vina (Amara Karan) will finally help him escape from his proud and domineering father Eeshwar (Harish Patel) who even can't resist hogging the limelight on his son's wedding day. Things don't get any better when the party is over as with parents in the nest room and his juvenile brother their wedding night is one to be forgotten. At least they have got the honeymoon to look forward to except that ends up cancelled and so they have to return to the Dutt home to start married life as tradition dictates. The question is can a modern couple and their new marriage survive living with Eeshwar in his home where just down the road the locals love to gossip.

I grew up on the British comedies of the 70s and 80s and when now as a grown up I think about them I can spot that they were based on British stereotypes and generational conflicts.. It is maybe why I now enjoy the British Asian comedies as once again they are based on stereotypes and generational conflicts. That brings me to "All in Good Time" another British Asian comedy which thrives off of the conflict of a young man living in the shadow of his larger than life father in his home and is full of those larger than life stereotypes which are familiar if you enjoy British Asian comedies.

Harish Patel in All in Good Time (2012)

Now "All in Good Time" is a bit of a curious movie because whilst it has everything you expect it kind of lacks energy and spark. It is a shame as there are some priceless gags in it such as Eeshwar walking in to his son's bedroom on their wedding night, the flushing of the toilet interrupting them and the brother tampering with the new bed so it collapses. It also has the depth and whilst we have stereotypes we can easily see that Eeshwar is the proud man who has worked hard for what he has but doesn't know when enough is enough whilst Atul is his loyal son who is embarrassed by his attention seeking father but also respects him and understands the importance of his father being the big man. It is a well worked script with lots of humour and depth but as I said it lacks that extra bit of energy and sharpness.

What is interesting is that "All in Good Time" is about a son living in his father's shadow and it is the same with the actors. Both Reece Ritchie and Amara Karan are lovely as Atul and Vina with Karan bringing plenty of warmth and understanding to the role of Vina whose smile lights up many a scene. But they are both over shadowed by such a full on performance from Harish Patel that they don't stand a chance especially as Patel really brings to life the stereotype.

What this all boils down to is that "All in Good Time" is entertaining and hits many of the same notes as other British Asian comedies hit, which isn't a negative as humour from stereotypes and generational issues works. But it just lacks the spark to make it really funny although it has plenty of depth to make up for it.


LATEST REVIEWS