Prime Video’s “Picture This” begins with Pia (Simone Ashley), its non-marriage-minded main girl, being pressured to have interaction in a pre-wedding job for her a lot sassier sister. It’s an appointment to take a look at the marriage jewellery that her mother is storing in a security deposit field.
After all, Pia has forgotten the appointment (she doesn’t care about marriage, bear in mind?). Dashing, she places on an outfit that makes her appear like “Cynthia from the ‘Rugrats,’” loses a flip-flop and goes to see “the magic treasure” barefoot.
Nonetheless, although she’s shoeless, Pia makes it clear that she isn’t any Cinderella.
“What if I don’t want to get married?” Pia asks her mother. “What if I want to continue to grow the [photography] studio, make a positive contribution to the world, and not be a part of… a social contract that’s just going to distract me from focusing on my career.”
Like its Indian rom-com predecessors, “Picture This” opens with soccer, a feminine Indian protagonist and a spirited sister who’s about to get married, however it’s no “Bend it Like Beckham,” the 2002 rom-com about an English soccer participant who falls for her non-Indian coach, or “Wedding Season,” Netflix’s 2022 film about an economist who falls in love with the person she takes as a pretend date to greater than 14 Indian weddings.
Just like the soccer-loving Jess (Parminder Nagra) in “Bend It Like Beckham” and number-crunching Asha (Pallavi Sharda) in “Wedding Season,” Pia has objectives. She desires to be a profitable photographer, a portraitist who by no means feels pressured to take passport footage to make hire. As a pushed protagonist not searching for love, she is usually irritated by her overbearing Indian relations (some viewers may even see some similarities to Ashley’s position as Kate in Netflix’s “Bridgerton”).
Nonetheless, although “Picture This” makes use of the identical mixture of parts as these movies, it doesn’t make the most of them to its profit. The latter two make you snigger because the characters develop inconvenient emotions for one another. By the top of these movies, you’re rooting for each skilled success and the difficult relationship.
In distinction, by the top of “Picture This,” I puzzled how the movie had squandered a lot potential. The film stars two standard actors in a premise that has been achieved earlier than however hasn’t been achieved sufficient instances to really feel boring, however by some means this film simply doesn’t work as both a comedy or a romance.
The thread that’s presupposed to tie the plot collectively is Pia’s dad and mom and sister forcing her to go on 5 blind dates with the intention of choosing a kind of suitors to take to her sister’s wedding ceremony. After all, it’s not that easy. The love of Pia’s life, Charlie (Hero Fiennes Tiffin), is the groom’s finest man, and Pia’s enterprise is failing.
It shouldn’t be a shock that the dates don’t go properly. From a psychotic billionaire to a beau who’s extra excited about another person to a guitar-strumming actor with zany concepts, Pia not solely doesn’t meet her match but additionally doesn’t even make it by way of all 5 dates. Moreover, whereas the dates do give the plot some construction, they’re actually mined for his or her comedic potential with out including any depth.
Consequently, the humor isn’t sufficient to compensate for the flat characters (they’re all extra caricatures than absolutely fleshed folks, together with Pia) or the shortage of emotional improvement between Pia and her ex.
In different phrases, this can be a film that breaks the cardinal guidelines of fine storytelling; It tells as an alternative of reveals. This lazy storytelling additionally takes place inside a plot crammed with holes. For instance, Pia and her ex broke up earlier than college (he didn’t attend), he’s shut sufficient to her future brother-in-law to be one of the best man, however they’ve apparently not seen one another or interacted with one another for a decade.
Additionally, whereas Pia and Charlie have on-screen chemistry after they banter within the few scenes that they do share, that chemistry flatlines after they ultimately kiss. This undeveloped and lackluster romance could also be particularly disappointing for followers who’ve adopted Tiffin since his dramatic position as Hardin within the “After” franchise.
Pia’s private improvement can also be disappointing. For somebody who is set to succeed, she doesn’t work more durable or take any steps to advance her profession. As an alternative, she lucks into it (I received’t spoil how, however that second feels very Gen Z although she’s a millennial), and the benefit with which she finds success radically undermines the movie’s premise that she is somebody who desires to place herself earlier than a relationship. She doesn’t prioritize herself in any means besides to go on disastrous dates.
As an alternative, the character and romance that deserves extra consideration within the movie is the one which develops between Akshay (Nikesh Patel) and another person. It has the potential to be much more attention-grabbing than Pia’s. (Admittedly, I’ve a delicate spot for Patel due to the outstanding job he does in “Starstruck,” however his appearing and comedic timing as Akshay are a few of the finest elements of the film.)
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General, as a lover of “Bend it Like Beckman” for over twenty years and somebody who thinks “Wedding Season” is likely one of the finest, if not one of the best, Netflix-produced rom-coms, I had excessive hopes for “Picture This.” However, as every minute of the film handed, these hopes have been dashed.
Regardless of the film’s poor high quality, I’m certain lots of people will nonetheless watch it, particularly due to Ashley and Tiffin. I’m additionally sure that clips will begin circulating on social media that make the film look higher than it’s. This is likely one of the issues with something new now. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or dangerous, it is going to nonetheless climb the streaming charts and make the truth that it was made appear price it. Nonetheless, in case you’re searching for extra substance in an Indian rom-com or feeling nostalgic, “Bend it Like Beckman” is streaming on Hulu. You’ll be able to watch “Wedding Season” on Netflix.
