ABCD

ABCD

           The United States of America is a country built on immigration. Wave
   after wave of people from other lands have arrived and contributed mightily
   to what has come to be called "the melting pot." Those who have arrived
   from foreign shores face innumerable obstacles, not the least of which is
   just how much to assimilate. Many wish to retain aspects of their
   homelands, whether culinary or cultural. Over the last 25 years or so,
   Indians from the subcontinent have been arriving in the States and are
   just now beginning to make their presence felt in economic and cultural
   terms. Like many "minorities," though, they have not been adequately
   reflected in the popular media. Usually an Indian is shown as either a taxi
   driver, newsstand operator or convenience store owner (think Apu on TV's
   "THE SIMPSONS"). Writer-director Krutin Patel has attempted to redress
   this stuation in his feature debut, ABCD, which is an acronym standing for
   "American-Born Confused Desi."

           The film focuses on a traditional-minded, widowed mother Anju
   (Madhur Jaffrey) whose sole reason for living appears to be seeing her two
   children married with families of their own. Raj (Faran Tahir) attempts to
   toe the line, working as an accountant, agreeing to an arranged marriage
   with Tejal (Adriane Foriana Erdos) and basically playing peacemaker
   between mom and his loose cannon sister Nina (Sheetal Sheth). Nina has
   more or less rejected everything about her heritage. She dates and sleeps
   solely with Caucasian men (and frequently finds fault with them),
   challenges her mother's conservative values and generally comes across
   as an unhappy and bitter soul.

           In a parallel plot that seems to be one of those "only in the movies"
   kind of story, Raj is passed over for a promotion that goes to his American
   co-worker and pal Brian (David Ari) and then begins to have feelings for
   the newly hired employee -- a Caucasian woman named Julia (Jennifer Dorr
   White). At the same time, Anju arranges a meeting between Nina and a
   childhood friend Ashok (Aasif Mandvi) and despite the initial attraction --
   Nina hops into bed with him after one date -- she becomes unhinged by
   the growing closeness. Brother and sister each have to question their lives
   and the choices they make.

           That's essentially the outline of the plot. Patel has written an
   intriguing look at how the children of immigrants deal differently with life
   choices than their parents. Anju frequently references her life in India,
   something of which Raj and Nina only have fleeting, half-formed memories.
   When Nina's old boyfriend (Rex Young) re-enters the picture, she has
   to make a hard decision, just as Raj does when he asks his boss why his
   passed over for the promotion he thought he clearly deserved.

           Where Patel shows strength as a writer, he exhibits his lack of
   experience as a director in his handling of his actors. Jaffrey tends
   towards scenery-chewing which very few helmers have been able to keep
   in check. Here she veers wildly from excess to subtlety. Her scenes in
   which she implores her daughter to be more traditional-minded are played
   at a fever pitch, yet there are some nice quiet moments, as when Anju
   and Raj talk together while on a swing on the porch. Tahir makes Raj's
   struggle palpable. He want to please everyone but ends up disappointing
   himself and as he begins to awaken to his own desires, the actor grows
   deeper into the character. Sheth, on the other hand, is saddled with a
   difficult part. While a very attractive woman, she nonetheless seems too
   lightweight a performer to completely make Nina's plight understandable.
   Instead of shedding any light on the character's confusion, Sheth plays
   Nina as strident leading the audience not to care about her plight. The
   character's sarcasm and cruelty are meant to be shield to protect the lost
   little girl underneath, but the viewer doesn't see that. All that's on display
   is her bitchiness. Mandvi does fine as the somewhat naive Indian
   immigrant who really believes he's come to America to find a wife and
   meets instead with bitter disappointment. (The audience will breathe a
   sigh of relief that he doesn't get saddled with the unpleasant Nina.)

             ABCD has a number of flaws that can be common to low-budget
   independent films. There are scenes that are poorly paced, acting that is
   uneven at best, sound and lighting that don't serve the scene, etc. Still,
   Patel should be commended for approaching a topic that isn't often
   examined in films, particularly as it applies to a segment of the
   population that has been stereotyped by the mainstream media. ABCD
   gets an "A" for its intentions, but unfortunately just barely passes on all
   other accounts.

                          Rating:                  C
                          MPAA Rating:         NONE
                          Running time:        105 mins.