Movie Review - Bazodee

If you haven't seen the Netflix series Sense8, the first season has a plot-line that is very similar to the plot-line here. There are some differences, but essentially both involve a woman from India who is about to marry a good man also with roots in India. However, she meets a foreigner who changes her heart and makes her rethink marrying the first man. Sense8 has an interesting sci-fi twist and a compelling action plot that makes the whole thing feel bigger. This movie doesn't.

It's a love triangle that doesn't do a good job of convincing us why any one is in love with any one else. It also doesn't do a good job of convincing us why these people do anything they do. The three actors are beautiful, but the dialogue and even the Bollywood-inspired songs are so superficially written that the actors become shells, hollow and empty vessels that are pretty on the outside, and not much else going on the inside.

Natalie Perera stars as Anita, the Indian woman who works with her father to build a resort in Trinidad. She's engaged to the son of her father's friend who is also investing in the resort or is also helping to build it. Her fiance and future father-in-law arrive from London. When she goes to the airport to pick them up, she meets a musician who's waiting for a friend.

Machel Montano co-stars as Lee de Leon, the aforementioned musician. Unlike Anita, he is not from India. Lee is a black man, most likely from Trinidad. He mainly plays the ukulele. When he sees Anita, he is immediately enchanted, so he decides to follow her. He actually crashes her engagement party and plays a song, which impresses everyone, especially Anita.

Despite being engaged to another man, she sneaks away and kisses Lee. She admits to doing so without knowing anything about him, except he's a good singer and musician. He reveals a little about himself, but it's still not enough to make us understand why she would sneak and lie. Based on what he learns, it's not clear why Lee would go along with the sneaking and lying.

Staz Nair also co-stars as Bharat Kumar, the man to whom Anita is engaged. It's implied that Anita is only marrying him for his money, but that's something that's casually thrown out. Nothing in the movie would have us believe that Anita is that kind of person. Nothing in the movie shows us how her relationship with Bharat progressed, or that there's any indication of love loss.

Lee knows that Anita is about to be married. Yet, he's complicit in her sneaking and lying. Lee comes face-to-face with Bharat and also sneaks and lies to him. The question of why he does this is never explained. Yes, Anita is a beautiful woman who likes his music, but how is that enough for him to do this?

Weirdly, Lee's friend, Bud, played by Chris Paul Smith, gives him side-glances, indicating his unease with Lee pursuing a married woman, but Bud never actually challenges him. Bud never asks Lee to clarify why this girl is so special. If she could leave her fiance at the drop of a hat, she could leave Lee just as easily.

At the end of the movie, Lee's grandmother shows up and her appearance is indicative of the problems of this film. His grandmother walks up to Lee and her presence is supposed to have impact, but because the movie doesn't establish that character and Lee's relationship to her, then that impact is barely a graze.

Two Stars out of Five.
Rated PG-13 for some suggestive content and brief language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 41 mins.