Americanizing Shelley (2007)

Director:

Lorraine Senna

Writer:

Namrata Singh Gujral (writer)

Release Date:

October 2008 (Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

You Can't Curry Love!

Plot:

A wannabe Hollywood player sets out to Americanize an Indian girl from the Himalayas.

Plot Keywords:

Character Name In Title

Cast

Namrata Singh Gujral	...	Shalini Singh / Shelley Picante
Beau Bridges	...	Gary Gordon
Brad Raider	...	Robert 'Rob' Shorwell
RonReaco Lee	...	Blaine / Parminder 'Pammy' Brar
Phillip Rhys	...	Neil 'Neelu' Brar
Wil Wheaton	...	Director Alan Smithee
Erin Hershey	...	Nicole
Shaheen Khan	...	Kirat J. Singh
Ajay Mehta	...	Jaspal Singh
Noureen DeWulf	...	Littly J. Singh
Tony Yalda	...	Happy J. Singh
Morgan Brittany	...	Georgina
Robert M. Rey	...	Elastic Surgeon
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	...	Ryder
Traber Burns	...	Bart
Matt Carmody	...	Keith
Jean Carol	...	Martha
Channing Chase	...	Agnes
Lenora Chu	...	Smithee's party girl
Jasmine Singh Cooper	...	Little Shelley
Jay Ferguson	...	Ben Dover (as J. Ferguson)
Rachel Ferrara	...	Girl who blows a kiss
Natasha Gill	...	Yuki
Nicki Gill	...	Sherri
Deep Katdare	...	Nick
Victoria Kelleher	...	Casting Director
Emily Kosloski	...	Beth
Cindy Lu	...	Actress #1
Helena Mattsson	...	Actress #2
Grey McIntosh	...	Neil's Fling
Lilly Melgar	...	Juanita
Michael Otis	...	Rocky
Cheryl Rhoads	...	Woman Shopper

Also Known As:

Americanising Shelley (UK) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated PG for sensuality and some language.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG | USA:PG (For Sensuality and Language) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

India

Company:

UniGlobe Entertainment

Quotes:

Neil Brar: You speak Spanish?
Shalini Singh: Y Tu Mama Tambien.

Needs work, and the film's script is not fully developed, but the film is worthy enough to be seen.

After seeing "Tropic Thunder" (2008), it has become clear that Hollywood actors, directors, and writers need to do background research on the characters they are portraying.

Just the film's title alone makes the audience aware that we should 'Americanize' people, and make them 'generic Americans'. And, in doing so, we should bury or hide their culture. Right? Wrong. Americans need to become 'culture sensitive', so they convey a positive message that someone else's culture is on an equal level with Americans. I'm okay. You're okay.

A number of Indian people attended a film festival in Connecticut. Those that had become 'Americanized' were not offended by the film. But, some felt that their Indian culture was portrayed in a negative light, and should have been given the dignity and respect of being on an equal level with the American culture. A significant number of Americans act like other cultures are inferior. This is wrong, and not at all true. 'Shelley' is given an American name, and is taught how to act, feel, and think like Hollywood-stereotypical Americans.

The Indian culture needs to be researched, and the script needs to be further developed. But, even with all of its flaws, the film is worthy enough to be seen. Truly, there are some very enjoyable, very funny, and very poignant moments. For a fair attempt, I rate this film a 6 out of 10. With some polish, and more work, the film would rank at least an 8 or 9.