Shades of Ray

Of all the films I saw at the Austin Film Festival, Shades of Ray impressed me the most. The film is a superb blend of comedy and drama that is both endearing and hilarious. Zachary Levi, known largely for playing the lead in the recent T.V. hit Chuck, stars as Ray Rehman, an aspiring actor who works as a bartender in the evenings to support himself. After Ray's girlfriend remains indecisive towards a recent proposal, Ray's dad shows up at his front door and suddenly Ray has to deal with a rift between his mother and father. To further complicate things, a new girl appears in Ray's life who he feels a deep connection to. The girl shares his ethnicity (1/2 Caucasian, 1/2 Pakistani) and causes him to question his relationship with his current girlfriend. Ultimately, the movie is a great exploration into love and identity. Levi does an excellent job with the character. He is both moving and convincing (interesting since Levi is not of any Pakastani or South Asian decent). Fran Kranz also plays a memorable role as Ray's spastic roommate Sal. It seemed like every time he appeared on screen the audience was laughing. But perhaps most impressive is that Shades of Ray is writer/director Jaffar Mahmood's first full length film to direct. With the incredible pacing and overall flow of the movie it seemed like it had been done by a long-time veteran director. I really look forward to what Mahmood puts out next. I would highly recommend Shades of Ray to anybody.

I was privileged to see this film at its world premier at the Austin Film Festival. Ray's family dynamics were fun and still familiar, making it easy to connect with him. Writer-director Jaffar created endearing characters. Despite some of the story weaknesses, I found this film irresistible. I was even more enchanted when a whole slew of folks got up on the stage for the Q&A after the screening, AND Jaffar introduced his parents who were in the audience. Zach, Sarah and Fran were extremely funny. Made even more so by the fact that Zach and Sarah were functioning on little sleep after wrapping their TV shooting schedules for the week and coming out to Austin almost immediately after. The support shown for this filmmaker only goes to show the passion behind this project; and, imho, those are the only projects worth spending my time on. Jaffar was articulate and very helpful with his responses to questions for us first time filmmakers.

If Zach Levi doesn't charm you as Ray, then you're either dead or in a coma. Sarah Shahi as Sana, same. Actually, the same can be said for all the leads, Fran Kranz, Bonnie Sommerville, Brian George and Kathy Baker - all did wonderful work. With my apologies to the rest of the cast for this next statement. Brian George stole the show as Ray's father. It was very obvious in the writing that Jaffar knew this character very well, and Brian picked up that ball and ran with it. He was highly entertaining to watch.

Zach is still a young actor, but if he's able to keep at his craft and continues selecting projects with this much heart, I see greatness in his career. He's going to be a tremendously talented actor, and he's already quite good! He made it easy for me to connect with and care about Ray. Sarah Shahi was a surprise. I see her every week on "Life", and really had no idea how talented she was - she acts so effortlessly on that show! Of course her character Sana in "SoR" is quite different from that of Dani Reese on "Life", but her personality during the Q&A is entirely different from both of them. Well done, you, Sarah! I don't know about anyone else, but I'll be watching for future projects with all these folks, including Jaffar of course! I hope you get distribution because I'll pay so I can see this again.

I saw "Shades of Ray" in NYC this past weekend at the South Asian International Film Festival. The plot of the movie deals with Ray coming to terms with his biracial background. Although this movie focuses on a half Pakistani half Caucasion man it could be any biracial story; it has a universal appeal. All the characters are endearing and after 90 quick minutes, I didn't want the movie to end! Zachary Levi is fantastic playing the lead role of Ray, his comedic timing is incredible. The supporting cast are all amazing; whoever did the casting was very successful. I hope this movie is picked up for distribution. I think it would be a shame if this fantastic romantic comedy was not made available for everyone to enjoy!!

This is an excellent "feel good" movie filled with great humor. The cast includes many up and coming actors such as Zachary Levi from Chuck and Sarah Shahi from Life. Zachary Levi puts forth an excellent comedic and heartfelt performance. All of the leads in the film have a rare connection that is hard to find in most romantic comedies.

The director Jaffar Mahmood was able to intertwine South Asian culture with western culture and made it easy for each viewer to relate to. This film is truly a breath of fresh air during a time period where most South Asian/Middle Eastern films are about war and suffering.

I highly recommend this film for viewers looking for a good romantic comedy!

Shades of Ray is an outstanding film. Extremely well written and directed; and the acting by all the performers was top notch. It was very funny and at the same time it gave us the "warm fuzzies" all over.

Although there is a definite ethnic slant, this movie could have been about any first generation immigrants trying to find there way in America. In many ways it also portrays typical family values of Americans across the country.

This film is a breath of fresh air compared to the gratuitously violent and sophomoric films that Hollywood has foisted on us for all too long.

We want to see many more films written and directed by Jaffar Mahmood. He is a great, young talent.