Polite Society Came Swinging Then Face Planted
The movie’s solid base crumbles disappointingly and doesn’t live up to critic’s praises.
By Sharon Kim
The movie’s solid base crumbles disappointingly and doesn’t live up to critic’s praises.
By Sharon Kim
“Polite Society” premiered in theaters on April 28, and is a British action-comedy-drama film, with Nida Manzoor making her directorial debut. I held high expectations going into the theater, especially considering the Rotten Tomatoes’ critic score being a 91% along with a sufficient audience review number scoring an 83%. Yet, I can’t seem to agree no matter how I spin this movie.
“Polite Society” is the story of high schooler Ria Khan (Priya Kansara) who dreams of becoming a great stunt woman, and her supportive older sister, Lena (Ritu Arya). Their bond is threatened when a handsome, smart and rich mama’s boy Salim (Akshay Khanna) enters Lena’s life. When disturbing facts get uncovered during an “Eid Soiree,” Ria grows wary of Salim and his mother Raheela (Nimra Bucha) while Lena only falls further for Salim’s charm. Ever determined to get to the bottom of this case, and desperate to save her sister from a terrible fate, Ria relying on her friends and fists, plans to ruin an upcoming wedding for the sake of sisterhood.
I had high hopes walking in, because the representation of people of color was one aspect of the movie I was looking forward to, as well as the bond between two sisters. Seeing good or even realistic sibling dynamics like this one was few and far between represented in media.
The colorful fabrics and ridiculous fights, as well as a big dark secret behind the seemingly perfect family seem to be hiding, is what made me seek out this movie in the first place, even when there wasn’t a lot of advertising done. Disappointingly, the movie didn’t live up to its full potential.
What I believe the movie does right are the comedy and the fight scenes. Honestly, the movie had me laughing in good humor and disbelief to many of the gags they pulled. The film was good on delivery and the jokes were funny. Epic showdowns were introduced in “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” fashion, bringing up a doodled font on screen that just hyped me up all the more for the action sequences. Not a single punch, kick or spin felt pulled and they had me cringing in the theater because of how much weight each carried.
Now the reason why I feel like this movie doesn’t deserve the high praises that it received from critics was because of its “big twist.” It gave me such a narrative whiplash that I wasn’t sure if I just moved to another theater because the big secret was so out of left field. By the last quarter of the film, things were getting progressively stranger and more haywire which left me sinking deeper into my seat. Some critics took it with a grain of salt and praised the other aspects of the movie but I feel like the plot derailment prevented me from fully immersing myself in the film. “Polite Society” is a crack plot and you can either hate it or love it.
All in all, the film is a proud feminist tale that is all for standing up to traditions with a spin kick and following true passions even when the world or your family may be against you. I can see why it received favorable reviews, yet I still feel that the movie was mediocre at best. Watch it at your own discretion.
“Polite Society” is currently playing in theaters now.
“Polite Society” is the story of high schooler Ria Khan (Priya Kansara) who dreams of becoming a great stunt woman, and her supportive older sister, Lena (Ritu Arya). Their bond is threatened when a handsome, smart and rich mama’s boy Salim (Akshay Khanna) enters Lena’s life. When disturbing facts get uncovered during an “Eid Soiree,” Ria grows wary of Salim and his mother Raheela (Nimra Bucha) while Lena only falls further for Salim’s charm. Ever determined to get to the bottom of this case, and desperate to save her sister from a terrible fate, Ria relying on her friends and fists, plans to ruin an upcoming wedding for the sake of sisterhood.
I had high hopes walking in, because the representation of people of color was one aspect of the movie I was looking forward to, as well as the bond between two sisters. Seeing good or even realistic sibling dynamics like this one was few and far between represented in media.
The colorful fabrics and ridiculous fights, as well as a big dark secret behind the seemingly perfect family seem to be hiding, is what made me seek out this movie in the first place, even when there wasn’t a lot of advertising done. Disappointingly, the movie didn’t live up to its full potential.
What I believe the movie does right are the comedy and the fight scenes. Honestly, the movie had me laughing in good humor and disbelief to many of the gags they pulled. The film was good on delivery and the jokes were funny. Epic showdowns were introduced in “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” fashion, bringing up a doodled font on screen that just hyped me up all the more for the action sequences. Not a single punch, kick or spin felt pulled and they had me cringing in the theater because of how much weight each carried.
Now the reason why I feel like this movie doesn’t deserve the high praises that it received from critics was because of its “big twist.” It gave me such a narrative whiplash that I wasn’t sure if I just moved to another theater because the big secret was so out of left field. By the last quarter of the film, things were getting progressively stranger and more haywire which left me sinking deeper into my seat. Some critics took it with a grain of salt and praised the other aspects of the movie but I feel like the plot derailment prevented me from fully immersing myself in the film. “Polite Society” is a crack plot and you can either hate it or love it.
All in all, the film is a proud feminist tale that is all for standing up to traditions with a spin kick and following true passions even when the world or your family may be against you. I can see why it received favorable reviews, yet I still feel that the movie was mediocre at best. Watch it at your own discretion.
“Polite Society” is currently playing in theaters now.