If Bridgerton Season 2 was any indication, actor Simone Ashley gave glimpses of a star in the making. With the new Prime Video entry Picture This, the actor gets the chance to show her chops as a leading lady in a rom-com, and she more than earns it. Although this is based on the Australian feature Five Blind Dates, which came on the platform just an year ago, Picture This gets to the hilarious specificity of Indian NRI culture to deliver a harmless, fun and sincere romantic comedy. (Also read: Anora director Sean Baker makes Oscars history with 4 wins for the same movie)
The premise
As a 29-year-old photographer in London, Pia (Simone Ashley) is being constantly reminded that her clock is ticking. She needs to find a man fast and get married. With her younger sister Sonal (Anoushka Chadha) just about to start her pre-wedding festivities, their mother Laxmi (Sindhu Vee) has yet another chance to remind Pia to settle down with a man. She takes the girls to their family vault to show the jewelery that she has saved for their marriage.
But Pia is clear that she is not interested in marrying or having kids. She wants to focus on her career at the moment, given that her studio is not exactly doing that well. Her gay bestie, Jay (Luke Fetherston), is there for moral support but how long can they survive like this? In the middle of this lands her ex-boyfriend, Charlie (Hero Fiennes Tiffin), with whom she had parted years ago. Then her family joins in for a wacky plan to set five dates for Pia to choose from, as the astrologer predicts she will find her life partner amongst them. Pia has no choice but to participate in this compatibility test spread over the next few days leading upto the wedding.
More blind dates, less success
Picture This sets its gamble with predictable ease. We are invited into this family and their dysfunctional roots with cutesy revelations and more hilarious antics. Even though we know where this is going, director Prarthana Mohan and writer Nikita Lalwani infuse the familiar genre cliches with a cultural specificity which audiences of Indian descent will particularly enjoy- from the caller tunes to the never-ending customs before the wedding to the incessant peer pressure of relatives to get married. They also cast an affectionate eye on the supporting characters, especially for their divorced mother Laxmi, which adds up to a hilariously awkward blind date scenario.
{{/usCountry}}Picture This sets its gamble with predictable ease. We are invited into this family and their dysfunctional roots with cutesy revelations and more hilarious antics. Even though we know where this is going, director Prarthana Mohan and writer Nikita Lalwani infuse the familiar genre cliches with a cultural specificity which audiences of Indian descent will particularly enjoy- from the caller tunes to the never-ending customs before the wedding to the incessant peer pressure of relatives to get married. They also cast an affectionate eye on the supporting characters, especially for their divorced mother Laxmi, which adds up to a hilariously awkward blind date scenario.
{{/usCountry}}The flashes of incongruity in Picture This arrive in the form of the main romance, as Pia wrestles with her emotions to look deeper into what went wrong with her relationship Charlie. These bits are underwritten and wrapped up too quickly in the second half, as the film takes too much time in sorting out the first few dates Pia must endure. The main spark of romance, which could have added more depth and texture into the film's overall structure, do not add up. So, even with all the sincerity and energy around Pia's main character energy, the stakes do not rise up in a convincing manner.
Final thoughts
Picture This has a breezy, infectious energy, powered by a shimmery costume design and a lovely musical score. Simone Ashley is so charismatic in the lead part that one wishes there was more time to get to know about her romantic aspirations. Her Pia shares the same radiance and geekiness of a Bridget Jones, and yet she is very much her own person at the end. Picture This does well by giving her time to sort her priorities straight, and makes for a sweet and entertaining entry into the beloved genre.
Picture This premiered on Prime Video on March 6.