Anita & Me

I haven't read the book - apparently it's excellent - but the film tries and fails to be another Bend It. Anita is not a 3D character as played here, and Meena is not as engaging as she should be. The parents are both well-portrayed, and I think Kathy Burke steals the film, although Meera Syal runs her close as the over-powering aunt.There are lots of nice touches, and good lines, but you're left feeling short-changed. The script is a bit thin, and I think there's too much reliance on gags, and not enough on filling in the characters. The music soundtrack doesn't improve the film, although some of the songs were a nostalgic blast. I subscribe to the school of thought that says use music only where it adds to the overall experience; otherwise don't bother. I certainly enjoyed it, and rate it 6 out of 10 for its simple entertainment factor. However, whereas I can watch "Bend It" again and again, I will not return to this film.

Having lived in the Black Country for over 30 years (which is in the West Midlands, not the East as some commentators state), I looked forward to this film as a huge fan of East is East, Bend it like Beckham and the cast of Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at no. 42. The plot was thin and predictable, the acting was patchy and many of the excellent jokes were lost in poor delivery. The accents were good, particularly from Kathy Burke who obviously took the time to study Black Country as opposed to Birmingham accents. Some of the other accents were forced, Lynn Redgrave's being perhaps the worse, as was her over-acting. An opportunity seemed to be missed to develop some of the supporting characters such as the various appalling neighbours and the wonderful grandmother. The message coming across seemed to be that white families are dysfunctional, religiously hypocritical and miserable, while Asian families have a few problems but are loving and full of fun - far too simplistic. Puzzling plot devices:- What was the "Yeti" all about? Who was he, where did he come from, why was he there and what happened after? What was the point of the Motorway? I have a feeling that the novel (which I have not yet read) will explain some of this but that is not really good enough for a film to be able to stand alone. Perhaps it was a mistake for Meera Syal to be a producer and actor having been the author as well. It sometimes needs a detatched producer to be able to see the problems. Here in Australia the film has not received many good reviews, but this may be predictable in the current political climate. Most Australians also find the accents impenetrable! Believe me, I really wanted to like it, but was bitterly disappointed.

In the small Black Country village Tollington, the Kumars are the only Asian family in the area and are very aware that they have to work twice as hard to get anywhere. However for their daughter Meena, all she wants to do is dream and be popular. Bored with live she gets hooked when she spots the striking blonde Anita. Despite warnings that she's a "bad un", Meena tries to become friends with Anita and, during a sweet shop robbery, they do. However their friendship is not an easy one even if it is the main one of Meena's formative years.

Having spent the last decade in the English Midlands I must confess that I have yet to do anything but wince when I hear a thick Brummie or Black Country accent; so when this film opened with the characters all speaking in it my initial urge was to switch it off. However I stuck with it and quickly got used to it (in the same way as one gets used to a sore leg, it is never comfortable but you just move on). Told through the eyes of a child, the story has nice touches that might be exaggerated but they help the narrative work. Perhaps it does try too hard to be liked by the audience but it still combines the humour well with a story that becomes more interesting as it goes on. The personal nature of the screenplay means that it is insightful and convincing but it does it with good humour. Huseyin's direction is solid – nothing too special but professional enough to do the job.

The cast take to the material well. Although I would cross the road to avoid her voice again, Uppal leads the film well; her narration is a bit overused but generally she makes it work. Her actual performance is better and she grows up well across the film. The support cast is deep in talent who mostly do well. Bhaskar, Syal and Djalili are amusing if not totally present for the comedy roots. Dharker is a stunning woman and a good actress – she adds a bit of depth to a simple role. Brewster has less of a character to work with but she is fine for what she is asked to do. Beesley is supposedly a bump to increase investment but doesn't do much more than that. Burke and Williams are OK and add a bit of class to the edges.

Overall this is quite a nice little film that is greatly helped by the very personal material that comes through well into the script. The cast are mixed but the main ones are good enough to deliver the mix of comedy and convincing drama. The accents are a bit hard to take for the whole 90 minutes but generally I was able to get into the characters and the story enough to be engaging and a little charmed by it.

I have lived in England for 18 years and I struggled to understand the accent in parts but got 90% of it. It's a unique story and definitely one worth telling. I had this in my watchlist for over a decade and only just got around to it as I have made that a mission. As a first generation immigrant from India, I could relate to it more than I'd wanted to, it felt hard to watch at times. I almost didn't want these thoughts. If I had seen it when I was new here, when the prospect was already so daunting, it would have scared me. Luckily now I look back at all the amazing people I've met. Hopefully the racsim continues to ease off. This movie does potray a simple & beautiful fact that despite our cultural differences we are all human and are more similar than not.

I thought this was going to be a re-run of yet another East meets West type movie but I was pleasantly surprised and impressed. Based on a novel by Meera Syal who also writes the film's screenplay, it follows the funny but often very moving coming-of-age of Meena, an above-average intelligence girl of Indian family living in a small East Midlands village. She teams up with Anita, the local (white) glam girl tear-away and the movie charts their firm friendship as they struggle individually with adolescence, family difficulties and the racism of peers. This is a wonderful and quite uplifting movie.