Chicken Tikka Masala

2005
5.7| 1h30m| en
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Jimi (Chris Bisson), the Chopra family's only son, gets caught off guard when his high-handed parents (Saeed Jaffrey and Jamila Massey) announce an arranged marriage to Simran (Jinder Mahal), a lovely girl from a respectable family. Problem is, Jimi's gay, so to hide his homosexuality, he spins an ever-more elaborate web of deceit -- but how long can he conceal the truth?

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Reviews

Evengyny Thanks for the memories!
Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
rdugrandbois Just how exactly do gay Asians manage in a culture that generally refuses to even recognize the concept of homosexuality? For millions of gay Hindus and Muslims there seems little hope of ever leading a life that is accepted and endorsed by their otherwise very close knit families. This is the main point explored in Chicken Tikka Masala - presumably named after the Western spicy dish involving tender pieces of young chicken flesh! Jimmy is a typical young Asian brought up in Britain by traditional parents with the common narrow minded and selfish views on marriage and grandchildren. Like millions of others he is led into an arranged marriage that seems inescapable even though he is apparently completely gay and deeply involved with a very attractive young man with whom he lives. He knows that the truth should be told but fears for the consequences of that particularly so as his father appears to be terminally ill. And so he becomes embroiled in a web of deceit that becomes wider and wider as the plot develops.The film is beautifully sensitive and not at all judgmental or patronizing to any group portrayed. The acting is generally excellent although it might seem a bit ham in places as the director tends to search for humor rather than letting it blossom naturally. There are no prizes for photography or script but the film is made entire by the wonderful sentiment expressed at the very end - a sentiment that all fathers across the world would do well to learn from.
ericgmiller I don't even know where to begin...It's is not worth typing a review so I will just quote what another user posted because I agree thoroughly, but I give it 1 / 10 instead of 2 / 10 "I am at a loss to find the words to express how bad I thought this film was. The initial precept was promising, but in all respects afterwards it was totally awful. Let's run through the main points. Plot - good initial idea but truly terrible development. There were many points when I thought "no, nobody would do something that stupid". The ending was amazingly anticlimactic. Characterisation - all of the characters were either completely bland or grotesque caricatures. I keep trying to think of one that wasn't - possibly the mother, but that's it. Music - intrusive, inappropriate and generally terrible. Direction - totally amateurish. Cinematography - doubt they've heard of it. Camera angles / stability / zoom levels often really bad. I am totally bemused at how this film has scored so highly. It's the worst movie I've seen at the cinema for years, if not ever."
Gordon-11 This film is about a young Indian guy who comes home one day and finds himself getting engaged to a woman. The problem is that he is gay. In order to stop the wedding without telling his parents that he is gay, one lie leads to another until it spirals out of control.This film is hilarious and got me laughing many times. Sally Bankes' acting is superb and she plays this strong woman who does what she wants convincingly. The plot is outstanding as well. I find the plot very realistic, and I can completely identify with Jimi's feeling of being terrified, worried and upset. On the other hand, Jimi's boyfriend, Jack, is given much less attention in the film. I would have liked him to be given more lines in the film, and have more character development. However, as I guess the director wants to make this a more mainstream film, the love between Jimi and Jack was not developed in the film.It is great to watch a gay affirmative film. Furthermore, this film preaches us to be accepting to other people's difference, be it sexuality, culture and the way of life. This film makes viewers think hard.We need films like this to give us a boost. Thanks for making this film!
charlz-2 This is not an entertaining movie by any means. We're supposed to believe that the two lovers, Jimi and Jack, adore one another, but not once during the entire movie did they embrace, kiss or hug one another. Jack does cry at one point, but it looks like a lot of glycerin tear makeup was used to convince us he was really emoting. As for Jimi, despite the strong interchange with his father at the movie's end, he still comes across as a weak individual. Jimi and Jack are indicative of the slew of character stereotypes that fill this movie.The only standout is Vanessa, Jack's mother. Thanks to the solid acting of Sally Banks, her character really has spit and spunk. Without it the movie would have collapsed and expired. It's hard to believe that Vanessa is Jack's mother, considering how shallow his character is compared to hers.Perhaps the comments in this forum that are offered by one of the disgruntled extras have a lot of merit. From what I saw, and from what he says, if Chicken Tikka Masala had the benefit of more talent involved in its creation and execution, it might have been an enjoyable film. Instead, it wallows in stereotypes and is really boring.I have the DVD version of the film and the colors are often dark and murky.