Family fun
Meet the Patels is a refreshing, funny look at the Indian expat community
MEET THE PATELS ★★★ 1/2 Starring: Ravi Patel, his family, various dates Directors: Geeta and Ravi Patel Duration: 88 minutes
If you think the world has had enough big fat your-ethnicity-here family stories, think again. Meet the Patels, co-directed and starring laid-back Indo-American actor Ravi Patel, pokes gentle fun at the Indian expat community, but never stoops for an easy laugh. In fact, Ravi is refreshingly proud of his heritage.
The other director is Geeta Patel, Ravi’s sister, who stays behind the camera, interviewing and occasionally laughing at her brother. You know, we kid because we love.
Ravi’s problem — he’s almost 30, and he still hasn’t found a mate. Well, he was dating Audrey, a redhead from Connecticut, but he broke up with her because he was having issues committing to a non-Indian.
After the family’s annual pilgrimage to the old country, Ravi decides to let his parents help out. Turns out that’s the opening they’ve been waiting for; they spring into action, collecting and handing out “biodatas” (basically dating resumés) and sending him on 15 dates spread across the U.S. and Canada. So, kind of like the Rolling Stones, except with less chemistry between him and his “fans.”
The documentary works as well as it does because Ravi, while exhibiting a wry, dry sense of humour, is also something of an introvert. He’s not always looking for a punchline, with the result that the ones he makes have more punch.
At one point he imagines his mom as a kind of relationship agent, telling her son that he has a callback and not to do anything different on the second date. “Right now it’s between you and two guys names Raj.” He also makes fun of Geeta’s camera skills, justifying the presence of stray boom mics in the shot and some truly atrocious focus and framing.
The film is also helped by the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Patel are almost endlessly patient. They’re also a sterling example that semi-arranged marriages like the one Ravi is hoping for can indeed result in a longlasting, loving relationship. Six and a half million Patels can’t be wrong.