A NICE INDIAN BOY & A MINECRAFT MOVIE

A NICE INDIAN BOY

Directed by Roshan Sethi

Praise the powers that be! A gay rom-com starring Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff, released theatrically AND it's fantastic? We used to pray for times like these! 

Soni stars as Naveen, a young successful doctor with a very traditional Indian family. He's a bit uptight, lovesick and maybe a little uncomfortable in his own skin. Openly gay and with the full support of his family, Mom and Dad in particular enjoy watching OUT TV to try and "understand" him. Soni, so funny as Deadpool's cab driver in those movies, is terrific in the starring role. He brings a sweetness to his deadpan self-depricating humor and you're immediately on board with his character from moment one. 

What happens is that he meets the dreamy artist Jay played by the absolutely incredible Jonathan Groff. There's more to him than meets the eye, something I'm positive the trailer will spoil. As the title suggests, the family wants Naveen to find his love but, why can't it be A Nice Indian Boy? 

Groff, the Tony award winning Broadway superstar has come a long way from GLEE. I've become a huge fan in particular the movie roles he's been choosing. I'm especially fond of his villainous turn as A. Smith in 2021's underrated masterpiece MATRIX RESURRECTIONS. Bringing charm and warmth to his character, the chemistry between him and Soni is palpable. 

What could've been a tone-deaf and racist film ends up being so much more thanks to the care and love brought on by Naveen's family. There are still sitcom-level jokes and plot developments, this is crowd pleasing rom-com after all. But the supporting actors elevate the material with genuine sweetness and affection. 

Billy Eichner eat your heart out, THIS is how it's done. 

⭐⭐⭐ 1/2 out of 4

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Directed by Jared Hess

Man, when was the last time Jack Black was in a really good movie? He's no stranger to the kid entertainment world but something shifted where this has become exclusively what he decides to make. There used to be some fun interesting things peppered in between the slop, but it's been nearly a decade since he's tried anything new. Here, Black is the worst part of what turns out to be an OK film. 

A MINECRAFT MOVIE is based on a super popular video game that I couldn't tell you a single thing about except that it's like, colorful and cube-based? A group of people get sucked through a portal and into the vibrant Minecraft world where everything is made out of cubes and you can use your imagination for anything although that's not ever really fully explored or explained. I can already feel my 13 year old nephew yelling at me about the rules!

Jason Momoa is kinda funny kinda sexy and I rather enjoyed the brother/sister dynamic by our 2 young leads but it's Black, as Steve that takes me out. It's an incredibly self-aware performance, where every single line of his dialogue is just exposition. It's hollow and empty and reminded me of Paul Rudd's performance in last week's DEATH OF A UNICORN. Also, could he really not even be bothered to cut his hair or insane pandemic beard? This is somehow the shlubiest he's ever looked and that is really saying something.

That said there's a confidence in the visuals, bold and colorful and lots of fun to look at. Director Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre) delivers some of his signature small town quirky humor in the early moments and Jennifer Coolidge as a divorced vice principal had me howling in her handful of scenes.

This one is for the much younger kiddos, who all applauded close to a half dozen times in my screening. Who am to argue with that? CHICKEN JOCKEY!

⭐⭐ Out of 4