Anita & Me

Having lived in the Black Country for over 30 years (which is in the West Midlands, not the East as some commentators state), I looked forward to this film as a huge fan of East is East, Bend it like Beckham and the cast of Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at no. 42. The plot was thin and predictable, the acting was patchy and many of the excellent jokes were lost in poor delivery. The accents were good, particularly from Kathy Burke who obviously took the time to study Black Country as opposed to Birmingham accents. Some of the other accents were forced, Lynn Redgrave's being perhaps the worse, as was her over-acting. An opportunity seemed to be missed to develop some of the supporting characters such as the various appalling neighbours and the wonderful grandmother. The message coming across seemed to be that white families are dysfunctional, religiously hypocritical and miserable, while Asian families have a few problems but are loving and full of fun - far too simplistic. Puzzling plot devices:- What was the "Yeti" all about? Who was he, where did he come from, why was he there and what happened after? What was the point of the Motorway? I have a feeling that the novel (which I have not yet read) will explain some of this but that is not really good enough for a film to be able to stand alone. Perhaps it was a mistake for Meera Syal to be a producer and actor having been the author as well. It sometimes needs a detatched producer to be able to see the problems. Here in Australia the film has not received many good reviews, but this may be predictable in the current political climate. Most Australians also find the accents impenetrable! Believe me, I really wanted to like it, but was bitterly disappointed.