Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Just watched this with my mom on a Netflix disc. It's from director/writer Mira Nair as she chronicles the arranged marriage in India between a young man and woman as well as her affair with a talk show host before hand. There's also a subplot about a young female cousin who reveals a shocking secret and of a wedding planner who longs for his own wedding. There's also some entertaining musical numbers that seem natural in the context of the story and not some Bollywood show-stoppers. I did admit to being somewhat confused by who was who in relation to the families but it didn't stop me from being mostly entertained during the whole thing. So on that note, I highly recommend Monsoon Wedding.

The way I see it; this is a pretty good, fun and charming movie to pass some time with but it definitely isn't something too impressive or brilliant.The good news is that this movie is very watchable for just about everybody. You don't have to be into Bollywood movies to like or appreciate this movie. Yes, the movie is very Indian but yet not really typical Bollywood like.It basically is a very simple movie, with its setup. It's set during and around an arranged wedding and the movie follows multiple different members of the family and others involved. But it does in in such a way that the movie still feels focused enough and keeps a pleasant flow to its storytelling.But what the movie is lacking with its storytelling is some edge. I feel that the movie too often decides to play things on the safe side and it doesn't goes quite far enough with some of its themes and story lines. It makes the movie quite tame but at the same time of course also more enjoyable to watch, so it's not like it ruins the movie or makes it a completely unwatchable one.The characters all have something going for them and most are likable ones, which make them and this movie pleasant to follow. There are definitely a bunch of different characters in this movie but the movie does a good job balancing things out between each and everyone of them. It never looses its focus, though it so easily could had done that, at certain points.The movie is also a colorful one, which of course adds to its overall atmosphere and enjoyment level, though the movie still definitely is being a serious drama as well. But luckily it's no melodrama and actually picks some realistic themes and has all of its characters responding and coping with it in a very realistic manner.A good movie to watch, that you might even end up loving. After all, it's a quite popular movie!7/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

The title of the movie is a refection of the continent of it. The Indian family is getting ready for a big event: the wedding. The marriage is arranged, which is one of the oldest Indian traditions. Still let's not forget that it's going on in modern India and the director is Mira Nair. For me the name of this director is a guarantee that there will be not much simplicity in the movie. After watching only five minutes of this movie I realized that it did not belong in the category of predictable movies. There are quite a few lines which are continuously intertwining together and held my attention till the very end. If I try to go into details I can say that the movie is about a bride who is about to get married but is still in love with a married man, or it's about a father who wants to make a beautiful wedding for his daughter but eventually will find himself torn between the feeling of great debt to one of the members of his family and the fact of revealed child abuse. Another direction of the movie could be about the wedding planer who finally finds someone special for himself. Looking at all these different scenarios made me unable to pinpoint the main one. Also there are many elements of tragedy and comedy going together which makes the movie especially interesting. In addition the movie is beautifully filmed; I liked the action and many colorful elements and details in it. Without any doubt I can say that "Monsoon Wedding" is one of my favorites.

The obvious precedent for 'Monsoon Wedding' is Robert Altman's 'A Wedding'; both are sprawling, multi-character films about the wedding of two wealthy, but culturally distinct families. But in spite of a sub-plot focused on child abuse, 'Monsoon Wedding' lacks the satirical, bleak edge of its predecessor: the rich, it seems to say, are just the people we ourselves would like to be. Given that the film is set in India, a society of immense inequality of wealth, I found its straightforward celebration of the lives of the affluent a little odd; and hard to care for its characters who seemed to own lives free of the constraints that not only bind most people, but which are also the stuff of real drama. The movie is lively, colourful, and musical; but I found it hard to really care.