Polite Society

Written and directed by Nida Manzoor, who created the brilliantly funny TV series We Are Lady Parts, Polite Society is a decidedly nutso film heavily influenced by nutso martial arts movies, among other things. The story is wild and the comedy is wacky, but it's also heartfelt, with relatable, emotionally believable characters.

This movie takes place in a world of its own, in a genre of its own, and it moves through that world with a wonderful sense of style and confidence.

I knew I wanted to see this movie when I saw who directed it, but I also knew I wanted to see this movie when I saw the trailer. The trailer is wild and funny and crazy and the movie completely lives up to it.

Highly recommended.

A lot of original films are hitting theatres lately and I am not complaining. Polite Society is one that flew under the radar for me though, as I just heard about it about a month ago. I am happy I decided to try it because it was very enjoyable. I will ultimately recommend this film throughout my review, but I have to say up front that it still underwhelmed me upon reflection. Although not completely satisfying, here is why Polite Society deserves more attention.

Ria (Priya Kansara), a young woman who is aspiring to become a Hollywood stuntwoman, makes it her mission to stop her sister Lena's (Ritu Arya) marriage. She believes that Salim (Akshay Khanna), the man she will be marrying, is hiding some big family secrets. Told through a fun visual style, Polite Society feels like it is trying to be the next Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, but it definitely falls short of that. It's a simple story of a woman trying to prevent her sister from being married, but over-the-top fist fights and science labs are also a huge aspect of this film.

As much as I loved these characters and the story at hand was well-told, the style the filmmakers were going for was not utilized enough in my opinion. For such a simple premise, the crazy sequences sprinkled throughout the film were clearly meant to be fun and overdone on purpose. Sadly, everything I saw in the trailers is pretty much all I got from the final product. It never takes this great style and amplifies it, which made it seem like they were too afraid to push it too far. I would have walked out absolutely loving this film if they decided to go all in on the over-the-top stuff.

Polite Society is a great showcase for both Kansara and Khanna. I have not seen them perform much on-screen, but I will gladly watch any project they are attached to. Their chemistry with one another was infectious and their characters were also very well-written. I commend Nida Manzoor for both writing and directing this film, seeing as I believe the story and characters were very good, but I just wish she took bigger chances visually. Due to the fact that I believe this film did not reach its fullest potential, I will not say you have to rush out and see it in theatres, but I think it is more than good enough to eventually spend your time watching it once it is streaming. Polite Society is now playing in theatres.

A future beckons as a stuntwoman on the screen, you practice hard, you are determined and you're mean, enter stage left, an adversary, distracts your focus as he'll marry, your sister Lena, this is something unforeseen; as she had planned to be an artist and be free, an independent minded woman without decree, now Salim has left his mark, plus there's a feisty matriarch, stands in the way of the great futures, that could be; so you hatch a plan to sabotage the pairing, with assistance of two friends and lots of daring, making discoveries that alarm, that make you struggle to be calm, most of the time you feel especially despairing.

Priya Kansara is outstanding as Ria as she attempts to scupper her sisters marital arrangement.

What a blast! I went into this movie without knowing anything about it and left super jazzed. I want to call this film "quirky" but that's not the right word for it. "Absurd", "strange" and "unique" are all more appropriate, but in the best way.

While the story isn't anything remarkable, the characters and self-awareness of this film elevate it. The quick cuts and editing are excellently done and add to the humor. The action is strong, while also giving Nacho Libre vibes. Ria's friends are a highlight and Nimra Bucha is a perfect mother-in-law character.

Best Character: Clara and Alba Best Quote: "Heavenly Father, give me strength" - Alba Best Scene: Sister Fight Best Piece of Score: "I am the Fury"

Polite Society starts off in a fairly standard way. Two sisters, very close, then one of them gets engaged to be married, which leaves the younger sister feeling a little deserted. So far, so normal. You can immediately see how the plot will develop. Younger sister tries to break up the couple, falls out with older sister, but then has an epiphany and discovers her future brother in law is a wonderful person and everyone hugs and lives happily ever after. Deception that's not what happens. It kind of does for a while, but gets progressively more and more surreal. Many will watch this movie and think it went totally off the rails. But I just found myself laughing - partly because it was, yes, silly, but mainly because it was fun. And we didn't really need another predictable "boy meets girl and other girl/boy gets upset" movie, did we?