In the long tradition of rom-coms, the butting of the familial heads is one of the most classic fuels for tension and comedic strife. Doubly so when culture clashes are added to the fair. This is all to say that Roshan Sethi’s (“The Resident,” “World's Best”) latest film “A Good Indian Boy” has everything stacked in its favor, even down to a title that becomes a joke in itself as the film progresses. Luckily, this is one of the few modern rom-coms that not only doesn’t waste its premise, it manages to be the shining example of the best the genre has to offer.
Naveen, played by Karan Soni (“Deadpool 2,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"), is a doctor, a good son, and accepted as an openly gay man by the rest of his traditional Indian family. However, shortly after his sister Arundhati’s, played by Sunita Mani (“G.L.O.W.,” “Scavengers Reign”), wedding, he meets his own nice Indian boy. The catch is that while Jay Kurundkar, played by Jonathan Groff (“Mindhunter,” “Frozen”), is a nice, devout Indian man, he’s also adopted and white. But the pair are quickly smitten, leading to Naveen trying to figure out how to introduce him to his parents Megha and Archit, played by Zarna Garg and Harish Patel (“Eternals,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral (2019)”), respectively.
Soni and Groff have perfect chemistry. The amount of laughs and charm that screenwriter Eric Randall (“Elsbeth,” “In the Dark”) is able to mine from the pair of them is seemingly endless. They manage to effectively bring you into their relationship and make everything feel genuine without sacrificing the humor of it all. Soni in particular gets to really showcase his talents, taking the center stage spotlight that works his awkward charms to maximum effectiveness. Groff’s decades of stage experience are put to great work here, letting him play the more outlandish of the pair, yet still having one foot grounded in the realism of his own arc. It’s silly without becoming parodic. Garg and Patel make for the perfect parents, bickering and complimenting each others banter throughout, but the surprise standout is Mani. She lights up the screen on any appearance, and her scenes with Soni have a very authentic sibling nature that makes them a joy to watch together.
The atmosphere of the film is that of a classic romance film, with plenty of conversations down city streets and awkward dinnertime conversations, but cinematographer Amy Vincent (“Hustle & Flow,” “Sinister 2”) keeps things looking beautiful. It all honestly looks far better than one would expect given its small budget, with gorgeous colors and wedding shots throughout its runtime. The musical score by Raashi Kulkarni (“World’s Best,” “Wedding Season”) blends the melodic strings typical of the genre with more traditional Indian instrumentations to create a lovely and lush backdrop to the film’s better than expected visual stylings. Randall’s script works best as a meshing of two different ideals for the genre: on the one hand, when he’s playing directly into what’s expected of the rom-com subgenre, it's a sweet and sugary delight. When he’s playing into the awkward “fish out of water” elements present from Jay and his interactions with Naveen’s family, it's a really funny delight as well, just a more cringy one.
Like the two families, the meshing of the elements is where the film shines the brightest and creates some of its best moments: the actors get to shine, the script gets to shine, and the entire project is at its strongest points. “A Nice Indian Boy” is short, remarkably sweet, and a near perfect example of what the genre has to offer. With a pair of charming leads, a smooth and great look, and an exceptionally funny and big-hearted script, it's a wonderful little film that virtually anyone can watch and be thoroughly entertained by. 5/5
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