“No wonder this marriage hasn’t got off the ground, there are too many people in it!” An hour in, the film is summed up, or is it? From the writer of East Is East comes All In Good Time, a wholly predictable, but very enjoyable story of a newlywed couple struggling to escape their families to get some time alone. With their honeymoon cancelled, Atul (Reece Ritchie) and Vina (Amara Karan) are forced to move in with Atul’s parents and give up any privacy and the wedding night they hoped for. In excellent British comedy style, the wedding is taken over by Atul’s whisky-laden father and any attempt at intimacy is ruined by the close proximity of his family.
At it’s heart, All In Good Time is the story of young lovers trying to start their life together. After the actual wedding night, Atul encounters some problems in the bedroom brought on by his family’s home and a fear of disappointing his new wife. Vina, his virginal wife, remains that way and starts to doubt Atul’s feelings for her and everything she’s doing. Add in gossiping friends and family and the marriage begins to disintegrate after what seems to be a week or so. The various scenes between the newlyweds are as awkward as you’d expect, and start of quite funnily until one particular one in a hotel room where, despite having no distractions, things don’t take off. After this, the atmosphere of the film descends into a chaotic, awkward tension between every character including both sets of parents and neighbours.
Predictable as it may be, it’s a heartwarming film with a decent bunch of performances, the standout being Atul’s father played by Harish Patel. He plays a man incapable of bonding with his son and it’s only when things get really bad that he steps up and has his serious moment, ruining it in style by coming downstairs and saying with a grin, “I think we bonded!” Part of me wonders how much of this film is actually about the couple, and not the relationship between Atul and his father. The wedding and issues that come after are the catalyst for their bond and the emotional opening of Eeshwar and with an ending like that, it’s hard to see which story the film is trying to tell. It’s very confused, having started with the couple and ended with Eeshwar and the past he can’t forget. The extras are a bit rubbish. There’s a few interviews with various members of the cast and the director, Nigel Cole, a premiere featurette and the trailer. But then again, you don’t buy a film like this for the DVD extras.
There’s nothing groundbreaking about All In Good Time and it’s decent enough, but nothing hugely special. The characters are likable and with enough substance to hold the storyline(s) together, it’s not going to challenge but it’s interesting enough to keep you watching. It’s nowhere near as good as East Is East but if you’re looking for an entertaining 90 minutes with a bit of heart, this is the film for you.
All in Good Time is out on DVD & blu-ray 24th September 2012.
Director: Nigel Cole
Stars: Meera Syal, Harish Patel, Reece Ritchie, Amara Karan
Runtime: 96 minutes
Country: UK
Film Rating: 
