While comedian/actor Steve Martin has played various characters throughout his career -- including a brief stint as King Tut -- one of his most beloved ones is George Banks from the "Father of the Bride" films. Now, many of you at this point are probably thinking that you're either reading the wrong review or that your faithful critic has seen too many movies and is now mixing them up.
That's particularly true since that "wild and crazy" guy is nowhere to be found in this picture and probably wouldn't be associated with a story concerning a Pakistani father who falls for a hooker while his son's turn to Islam is driving him crazy.
Yet, Martin's take on the mild-mannered father figure who thinks he's hip but becomes completely exasperated with his family members is clearly an influence on this film. Of course, Martin isn't the only performer to play such a character with such reactions -- after all, Spencer Tracy influenced him -- but he just plays that sort of character so well that you can feel his comic spirit pervading this production.
As such, if one can imagine a popular Indian actor playing a Pakistani cab driver version of Martin, then the feel for at least part of this film and its central character will become readily apparent. Naturally that's only a starting point as this film obviously delves into more risque material, but that comically irritated father figure is the heart and soul of this genre bending film and certainly qualifies as its most fun aspect.
Part situational comedy, part drama, this unconventional picture works best when delving in the former arena, but is compelling enough as the latter to make the film interesting throughout. Fueled by a surprisingly quirky and upbeat soundtrack -- that symbolically mirrors the protagonist -- the film's best moments concern actor Om Puri ("Gandhi," "The Ghost and the Darkness").
One of India's leading performers, his incredulous reactions to his son's sudden change of religious and societal beliefs and the resultant repercussions of that lead to some humorous material. The more things change, the more stubborn Puri's character becomes and the results -- while not of the knee slapping variety -- are often quite funny.
That's particularly true when Parvez's son invites a Muslim priest to stay in their house (to which the father hesitantly agrees), and then watches in comical befuddlement as his son and the other followers begin converting his westernized home into a more "acceptable" abode for the Maulvi and his wife goes back to eating in the kitchen by herself away from the men.
Based on a short story that first appeared in "The New Yorker" and as adapted by screenwriter Hanif Kureishi ("My Beautiful Laundrette," "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid"), the film unfortunately doesn't stick with the situational comedy. Instead it delves into more serious material and isn't quite as successful when dealing with those dramatic elements. Even so, the plot's construction and finalized delivery are solid enough in creating and playing off the conflict-based drama to keep things interesting throughout.
Interestingly, and considering that Puri plays that immediately likeable father figure, Kureishi and director Udayan Prasad ("Brothers in Trouble") -- notwithstanding the title -- don't take sides or make the son and his fellow believers the "villains" of the story.
While Farid's sudden attraction and devotion to Islam is never satisfactorily explained nor explored to give him equal weight in this conflict, Parvez's faults soon become apparent. As such, the audience suddenly finds itself no longer with a favorite character, and being thrown off balance makes the film that much more interesting -- although not as entertaining -- then when it began.
Although Parvez can't understand his son's sudden change, Farid conversely cannot see why his father abandoned their beliefs, is oblivious to the ever-present racism of their working class English town, and mingles -- in more than one way -- with the local prostitutes. As such, these differing opinions and views create plenty of conflict amongst the characters which keeps the story constantly moving forward.
The performances are decent across the board, although some fare better than others. As earlier mentioned, Om Puri gives an intriguing take on that less than perfect father figure, and while some viewers may turn on him due to his later behavior, many will stick with him simply because Puri does such a fine job portraying a man who finds his life changing all around him.
Oscar nominee Rachel Griffiths (for "Hilary and Jackie," she also appeared in the recent "Among Giants") delivers another fine performance as the hooker who falls for Parvez. While the story never really delves into her character and what motivated her into that profession, Griffiths embodies her with enough compelling qualities to keep her character interesting, if not always agreeable, to the audience.
Supporting takes by the likes of Akbar Kurtha ("Judge Dredd") as the suddenly disenchanted son and Gopi Desai (a popular Indian actress) as the mostly subservient wife are quite good. Unfortunately, one of the more interesting characters, as played by Stellan Skarsgard ("Good Will Hunting"), comes off as more of a necessary plot contrivance than a real, flesh and blood creation, especially since neither he nor his hedonistic behavior is ever explored beyond the obvious.
Although I would have preferred the film to continue along in the light comedy route rather than delve more into the dramatic and occasionally unsavory material, the end result is nearly always interesting and is constructed well enough to earn a moderate recommendation for those looking for something beyond the normal Hollywood fair. As such, we give "My Son the Fanatic" a 6 out of 10.