Seen: July 30th, 2007
Format: DVD
Rating: 6
I tend to enjoy Gurinder Chadha's films. She's got a unique take on the world, and an interesting sense of humor and wonder. She's not afraid of drama, but doesn't let that bog down the fun that life can be.
What's Cooking is several different films. It's four family drama films as tied together. It's an exploration of different cultures, focusing on family dynamics and their similarities and differences. It's also an exploration of breaking your personal boundaries and becoming the person you're meant to be.
That's a lot to pack into 109 minutes.
It's done well though. This film moves. Every scene is relevent and most are very compact. Each pushes at least one story forward, and often more than one. There's no fat in this film, it's all meat.
The cultural juxtapostions are interesting. There's no judgement here, just honest portrayals of families from different backgrounds whose problems, while diverse, are hardly unique. This is a film about family, and particularly about children and who they become as they mature. Each family has children and they're all treated a bit differently and have different roles. But in each case, there's a change in the relationship of the children to their parents. Both children and parents have to grow and mature to deal with those changes.
Not that this is all heavy. There are moments of levity here. It's no giggle-fest, but there's adequate relief from the heavy nature of some of the drama.
The acting is solid. While there's nothing really remarkable, the performances serve the roles well enough. Mercedes Ruehl was the standout here for me.
This is a good film, but really not as profound as we'd like it to be. Even when we learn how close these people really are, it doesn't have the impact we might expect. But perhaps that's the point, that these are stories that could happen to us or anyone we know. Perhaps our families aren't that different.
The Good: Juxtaposition of culture
The Bad: The faults we all share
The Ugly: Not knowing when you're not wanted
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