Worth: $15.00
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Cast:
Lily James, Shazad Latif, Emma Thompson, Asim Chaudry, Jeff Mizra, Jeff Mizra, Oliver Chris, Sajal Aly
Intro:
It isn’t a movie you’ll fall head over heels in love with, but you will probably fall in like with it – and sometimes that is enough.
Directed by British-Indian director Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth) and scripted by Jemima Khan, the awfully titled What’s Love Got to Do with It? (not to be confused with the Tina Turner biopic) is a serviceable rom-com that never quite finds its feet but remains mostly entertaining throughout.
Zoe (Lily James) is an award-winning documentarian (echoes of screenwriter Jemima Khan’s own experience which will inform a good deal of the film as she was married to Imran Khan) who is having trouble pitching her new work. She has a spotty romantic history as she tends to choose the “wrong guy” and even when she finds the “right guy” she’s phobic of commitment. When her childhood friend Kaz (Shazad Latif) informs her that he will be going through an arranged or “assisted” marriage, Zoe decides that his journey might be good fodder for a documentary looking into the relationships of people who have chosen to go down that route.
Zoe is at first surprised that Kaz would choose an assisted marriage. He’s a British born Pakistani and far from traditional. His more traditional parents are thrilled that he has chosen to allow them to be the arbiters of his match, although Kaz limits just how much input they get. Following him with her camera, Zoe sees him interacting with Mo the Matchmaker (Asim Chaudry) and there are great jokes in the scene. There are also some revealing issues – Kaz’s father Zahid (Jeff Mizra) doesn’t want a match who is too “women’s lib” whereas Kaz’s mother Aisha (Shabana Azmi) dabbles in casual colourism.
A lot of the back and forth between Kaz and Zoe comes from their cultural differences, which she can’t quite grasp. Zoe asks what really makes them different, considering they both grew up next door to each other on the same London street. Kaz answers that she has never had to worry about prejudice. “The difference is 47 and 49” – the year that the British Raj left India and Muslim Pakistan emerged, recognised as an Islam state by Nato. Kaz is a practicing Muslim, who despite being born in Britain, still faces racism. They also seem to have different takes on love. Zoe, despite her poor choices, still wants to fall in love. Kaz is happier to walk into love.
Then of course there’s the elephant in the room, which is unfortunately Zoe’s mother, Cath, played by the usually excellent Emma Thompson. Her performance in the film is a cringe-fest. Supposedly the comic relief, she chews and spits out scenery with her zany but clueless character. Cath wants Zoe to settle down, so to that end she enlists her vet, James (competently and charmingly played by Oliver Chris).
Eventually, Kaz finds someone he can “click with” in the Lahore located Maymouna (Sajal Aly). After an internet courtship lasting a few weeks, Kaz’s parents propose to Maymouna’s parents, and they’re all bound for Pakistan for a lavish wedding. Zoe and Cath are in tow with Zoe’s camera ever at the ready.
There are no leaps and bounds in the movie. If you’ve seen the trailer, you know precisely where the film is going. What makes it watchable are pertinent observations of British Asians living between cultures and an enjoyable performance by Lily James, who usually gets saddled with roles that rely on her desirability rather than her agency. Zoe is allowed to be messy and complicated. She’s allowed to have competing desires. The scenes where she explains her dating history to her friend’s daughters through fairy tales are clever and disturbing (clever because she really was Cinderella).
Latif is a good actor and hopefully we will be seeing more of him on screen. Although he doesn’t seem to have immediate chemistry with James, the film builds up their relationship patiently. A stand-out of the film is Shabana Azmi as the matriarch of the Khan family. A lot of the more subtle and effective comedy falls to her.
Kapur isn’t known for his work in comedy, but he directs competently, and his hallmarks for spectacle come into play in the wedding scenes in Lahore. Jemima Khan’s script does have genuine laugh-out-loud moments, but they are front loaded in the film. By the end of the film, we are seeing a different story, which includes alienated family members and the damage that tradition can sometimes do to those born between cultures.
Will What’s Love Got to Do with It? change the rom-com world? No, it’s far from the classic status of other Working Title productions such as Bridget Jones’s Diary and the perennial favourite Love Actually (which gets a shout out in Zoe’s title for her documentary Love Contractually). Is it pleasant enough? Yes. It isn’t a movie you’ll fall head over heels in love with, but you will probably fall in like with it – and sometimes that is enough.
