Meet the Patels (2014)

the audience applauded

One of my all time favorites.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I watched this documentary with no expectations, just an interest in learning about a cultural experience. The outcome of the documentary was apparent from the start. I expected the journey that lead us there, however, to be far more interesting. The documentary lacked basic fundamentals. The main intent of the film is obscure. As far as the character development goes- there is little. The parents are absolutely wonderful and the saving grace of this documentary. Mr.Patel is amazingly charming. I would love to have known more about Geeta. Her story is the one I found more compelling and it was only briefly touched. (Major spoiler coming) The relationship between Ravi and Audrey never seemed genuine. After being together two years he kept saying he didn't know if he loved her. At no point in the film was their affection for each other shown, but it was obvious through the script that they would end up together. The failed attempt at a "surprising twist" was awkward. I was left feeling sorry for Audrey.

There has been a lot of publicity about this movie. The best and funniest parts were in the trailers and previews. Prior to seeing the movie, I was so excited. I even liked the Facebook page. I drove 45 minutes each way to see it. What a disappointment! I was hoping to see a lot more of what was in the trailer. I did not. My 7-year-old daughter thought it was funny. But she liked The Martian more. So did I.I think the problem with the movie is that it is not an experience. It's not uplifting, hilariously funny, educational or anything really. The only feeling it left me with was regret -- that I spent all that time and about $20 on it.Oh, I guess the only feeling it left me with was annoyance. It's the journey of of a man who did not know himself.

I hope everyone goes out to see this film when it opens in late September. We were lucky enough to see it in our film club a few weeks ago and it rated the highest of any film we've seen! It's one of those stories anyone can relate to, but its about a young Indian man trying to find his soul mate, who decides to give "arranged marriage, Indian-style" a try. It mostly shows how much alike we all are and the film is hugely funny! There was a Q&A session afterwards with the whole family on Skype and it was nearly as good as the film! The parents are hilarious!! The film was made by their son and his sister, so was a family project and began as footage from a family vacation. What they did with that is amazing! Please go see this and take your family and be prepared for lots of fun!!

I saw this film at my local film club. I didn't like it very much and found it rather boring and not that funny. The story is not that interesting. A 30-something Indian-American is trying to find a wife at the insistence of his parents. Ravi, who plays himself, had a "white" girl-friend, but they broke up. Later on, they get back together and the parents accept her. In between though, we see a lot of footage of on-line dating, going to Indian weddings in India, and other attempts to find a suitable woman to marry, and endless conversation between Ravi and his parents (that's where the boring part comes in). The camera work was terrible, obviously done with hand-held cameras. What I also found annoying that there were inserts of animation of the characters involved. Either make an animation movie or a regular one... the combination didn't work for me. All in all, I think this movie may speak to some people, but it did not to me. To me it was a waste of time.