ALL IN GOOD TIME (2012)

Genre: Drama/Comedy
Director: Nigel Cole
Cast: Reece Ritchie, Amara Khan, Harish Patel, Meera Syal, Arsher Ali, Neet Mohan, Hassani Shapi, Meera Syal
RunTime: 1 hr 33 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Sexual References)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 8 November 2012

Synopsis:  Centred around a close knit, larger-than-life British Asian family living in present day Bolton, ALL IN GOOD TIME stars REECE RITCHIE and AMARA KARAN as Atul Dutt and his young bride Vina, for whom the first taste of married life is proving far from straightforward.

Movie Review:

With the prices of housing rising so incessantly over the years, many newly wed couples in Singapore have opted to stay in with their parents until they can afford a home of their own. With this backdrop in mind, it makes All in Good Time an even more relevant movie that Singaporeans can relate to. From the issues big and small, it leads to many tensions between the relationships with the family. How should a young couple handle the bigger family issue when they have the problem of their own? Will ‘blood is thicker than water’ eventually take prevalence and conclude the story with a ‘happily ever after’ ending?

All in Good Time is based on an award-winning play, Rafta Rafta. It explores the realities that surround new couples in the 21^st century, with a specific focus on Indian families living in UK. It accurately highlights the problems that new couples have with their family, having to balance between trying to create a space of their own, and integrating into the bigger family. The movie opens with a fun and vibrant Indian wedding, with lots of dance and custom specific procession to celebrate the happy occasion. It is undoubtedly a colorful and luscious affair that sets it apart from the typical Westernized weddings that we commonly sight in movies.

Subsequently as you get acquainted with the different characters in the movie, it makes the movie more fun to watch. The cast, although not that star-struck and may not even have any actors/actresses that we are particularly familiar with, made the movie worked. In particular, much credit goes to veteran actor Harish Patel, the father of the young groom. Just like how most fathers are the head of the household that holds the family together, Harish Patel plays the anchoring character in the story that gels the plot.

As mentioned earlier, this movie is based on a play. Hence, the story has something more substantial to offer, taking a melodramatic twist towards the end. Many happenings in between could be a little exaggerated to have the comedic effect, but still an undoubtedly true portrayal of the generation gap between parents and their children. As highlighted in the movie, differences in values, priorities, goals and attitudes are the key causes of communication break down between the generations. Also, although many sexual references were kind of redundant, we cannot deny the cleverness in treating a rather sensitive subject. It was a not subject of joke (but ironically it did stir up some jokes between the families) and was treated with much maturity. This is a refreshingly fresh angle since it is a topic that is often downplayed and trivialized these days.

All in all, All in Good Time unexpectedly delivers a poignant and relevant modern tale. Some may say that it is clichéd, but clichés do work well when executed properly. It might not have the kind of sensational appeal as a similar Indian-based film like Slumdog Millionaire, but it definitely has its own thing to offer.

Movie Rating:  

(Peculiar and appropriate movie that has a charm of its own)

Review by Tho Shu Ling