Customer Reviews

Ball & Chain

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you've ever been in love and tried to resist it, you'll be able to relate to Ameet and Saima - the children of two strong-willed Indian American families whose main goal is to stop their pending arranged marriage, a custom deemed appropriate and necessary by their old school parents. The problem is, after finally succeed in halting the ceremony, Ameet and Saima discover they truly do love each other and changing horses mid-stream is not as easy as they think!

Suddenly the race is on for Ameet to try and stop Saima's inevitable union to runner-up scumbag Ashol - a sleezy playboy who just wants a hot trophy-wife. Can Ameet pull off a miracle and win back the girl of his dreams?
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This sweet and easy-going comedy from Lions Gate is the perfect elixir for the string of recent formulaic been-there-done-that Hollywood romantic-comedies like "Failure To Launch" or "Just Like Heaven". Foregoing cheap cliches and over-used plot-lines, writer Thomas Mortimer explores the crazy side of a situation that is very relevant in today's society, yet rarely thought about by mainstream America - the arranged marriage.

Lisa Ray (Saima) and Sunil Malhotra (Ameet) give believable performances as the two confused young lovers and Kal Penn (Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Van Wilder) shines as Ameet's best friend Bobby.

Held together nicely by solid performances, great direction by Shiraz Jafri, and a fun and quirky musical score courtesy of Deane Ogden, "Ball & Chain" is a welcome reversal from your average "American Pie-style" teen comedy. Well worth the watch!

'Ball & Chain' released in '04 is yet another foray into the ongoing cultural/familial conflict of East versus West.The story takes place within a Hindu community located somewhere in Texas, U.S.A. The parents of two Indian families have followed the time honored tradition of arranging the marriage of their offspring, Ameet (Sunil Malhotra) and Saima (Lisa Ray). The only problem is Ameet and Saima don't want to get married. In fact they don't even like each other.

A movie premise we've all seen many times with a foregone conclusion of what lies ahead as the young, engaged couple concoct a plan to make sure the marriage never takes place. When the two lay aside their dislike for each other in order to work together for a common goal they discover they have more in common than they thought. Will love blossom between these two attractive people? Will this marriage ever take place, or have they already messed up any chance of happiness they might have shared together? WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Sunil Malhotra and Lisa Ray are charming and Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) supplies so comic relief in this well intentioned, but so-so film.

-3 1/2 Stars-

Ameet laughs when his best friend is unwittingly arranged to be married, but things are not so funny for Ameet when he discovers his own parents have arranged for him to marry the beautiful but bossy Saima. Neither of the two are ready to be married and scheme their way out of the engagement. Ironically, when their families call off the whole thing, Saima and Ameet finally start to get along and fall in love. To make matters worse, Saima's father has already taken matters into his own hands by arranging her to marry a man who turns out to be a jerk. Can Ameet win back his lover's heart and her father's respect?

Minus the dancing numbers, the typical Bollywood elements are present: campy comedy and, of course, the love obstacle. However, the movie dares to be American by allowing an element not commonly seen in Bollywood movies: kissing.

A little hokey, but still quite sweet.

BALL & CHAIN is super silly and if you at all want to have a shot at enjoying this film, then you can't approach it with a mindset to criticize. It also helps to lower expectations. Maybe get a couple of drinks in you. Maybe smoke a little sumthin' sumthin'. Maybe see the thing with some college frat boys...

To make it very clear, BALL & CHAIN isn't a Bollywood picture, although it features Bollywood's tendency to fixate on arranged marriages and that perennial tug of war between today's more contemporary cultural perspective versus traditional Hindi family values. BALL & CHAIN takes place in Texas and most of the characters have American accents, so it's got a strong western presence. Sunil Malhotra (who?) and Lisa Ray play the two leads, Ameet and Saima. Ameet is an easy-going dude, in no hurry to grow up. Saima has already made inroads in her medical career. They don't gravitate to the same circles. They don't even like each other - it doesn't help that Ameet keeps accidentally spilling drinks on Saima. And so when their respective parents agree to make them a match, they go out of their way to sabotage the engagement.

Kal Penn (VAN WILDER, the HAROLD & KUMAR movies) is the most recognizable name in this thing, and he's pretty funny. Probably the funniest bit in the film happens in the first 15 minutes or so with Kal's reaction as he sets eyes on his hideous fiancee for the very first time ("Aw, hell, no!"). Then he ends up spending the rest of the film with one arm in a sling. Lisa Ray (WATER, BOLLYWOOD/HOLLYWOOD) is absolutely stunning, man, and her presence alone is worth two stars in my rating. The thing is, I don't really buy Lisa Ray and the very bland Sunil Malhotra (who?) as a couple in love. Their scenes together don't sparkle with chemistry. The picnic by the waters - I think that's when they're supposed to officially fall for each other - is super cheesy, and Sunil's heartfelt big speech near the end is pretty lame. The best I can say for Sunil is that he's a step up over the second guy to get engaged to Saima, some creepy computer programmer named Ashol. Ashol turns out to be exactly like what his name sounds like.

Maybe it would've played better if the story didn't feel so disjointed. It's really tricky to roll for most of the movie with this juvenile frat boy sensibility and the crude slapstick, and then suddenly do a 180 and try to get dramatic. It's very hard to pull off. Going from silly to sincere, BALL & CHAIN trips over itself, and this last time it wasn't intentional.

Okay, fine, another bit that made me laugh (even though it was so stupid) was whenever Saima's brother would intently ogle breastages. This movie's so silly... I guess I kinda liked it.

What a great movie, they really should have put this out in the theatres. This is a must watch for everyone...
Also includes one of my most favorite actors Athar Ali, a definate rising star!!