Word: popcorned
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...point in the winning new romantic comedy "Chutney Popcorn," Meenu (played by Madhur Jaffrey), the not-so-understanding mother of two squabbling sisters in an Indian-American family, points to the Statue of Liberty and observes "Look - even she's wearing a sari." And that's the way this film sees contemporary life: all dressed up in a warmly comic, multicultural wardrobe. It's more than a fashion statement, it's a declaration of a new America...
...best, "Chutney Popcorn" has some of the sensuality and comic smarts of Mira Nair's 1991 movie "Mississippi Masala?" and, evoking Deepa Mehta's 1996 drama? "Fire," it offers up an intelligent look at lesbian life and the Indian community. Although "Chutney Popcorn?" in its brief 92-minute running time, deals with as many issues as a week of afternoon talk shows - lesbianism, multiculturalism, having-a-babyism - it does so not to spark a debate about those topics, but to explore them from a deeply personal standpoint. This film isn't looking to argue, it's looking to chat...
...capital letters: INTERRACIAL SEX, THE DEATH PENALTY, LESBIANS. The characters become symbols, the plot grinds along, and, at some point, Joan Allen gets to deliver a speech - with swelling strings in the background - that can be neatly clipped and shown again on Oscar night. "Chutney Popcorn," an independent, low-budget affair, presents real people experiencing hot-button issues and not speechifying about them...
...Nonetheless, "Chutney Popcorn" is a film well worth seeing. During the course of the picture, there's a scene in which Reena and Lisa adorn each other with henna tattoos before making love. It's a sequence that could have be played for pure titillation - and probably guaranteed the film a place among the lesbian-obsessed soft-focus/softcore late-night offerings on Showtime, Cinemax and HBO. Instead, the scene is sweet, a bit humorous, and more about intimacy than carnality. "Chutney Popcorn" is a low-budget movie that never goes for cheap thrills...
...name during his film school days as a joke on the pretentious art world of cinema. It is this irony that many viewers find sadistic and alienating in his work, and their cinematic experience turns cold and angry. But even though von Trier makes you want to throw your popcorn or rip your ticket, I think there is something valuable underneath this so-called charlatan's grin and captured in the lens of his camera...