Anita And Me Details

As a light-hearted depiction of a Punjabi family settling in a small Midlands village in the early 1970s, this comedy drama is rarely more than one-dimensional, but Meera Syal's adaptation of her own novel is still consistently amusing. At the heart of the story is Asian teenager Meena (Chandeep Uppal), and her relationship with her white neighbour Anita (Anna Brewster), whose sexual maturity and rebellious behaviour alarm Meena's traditionalist family. Its cultural themes invite comparison with East Is East or Bend It like Beckham, but the story lacks the emotional core of either, while the laughs of recognition that the fads, fashions and attitudes of the era are supposed to invoke may not be forthcoming from audiences of Anita's age group. However, the above-average supporting cast, including Sanjeev Bhaskar, Lynn Redgrave, Mark Williams, Kathy Burke and Syal herself, adds comedic lustre to this enjoyable, if inconsequential, movie.

Haphazardly plotted movie that tries to take in a great deal of good and bad cross-cultural experience, but somehow loses its way.