Review by Miriam Brent
Stars Ameet Chana, Pooja Shah, Ronny Jhutti, Manish Patel,
Lee Latchford-Evans, Andrew Harrison | Written by Christine Edwards, Manish Patel
UK certification 18 | UK RRP £14.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 93 minutes | Directed by Sarjit Bains
Some things just don't bode well for a film, and cameo appearances by former Big Brother housemates Kinga (minus bottle) and Makosi certainly tick that box – and that's before Lee Latchford-Evans of Steps pops up. Surreal? You bet. If you've ever wondered what a multicultural Lock, Stock ... would be like, Cash and Curry aims to fill that void in the Brit-gangster repertoire.
Fed up with being bottom of the gangster foodchain and desperate to escape Wembley, Raj (former Eastender Ameet Chana) and his friends Gauri (Pooja Shah, another 'Ender of old) and Rohit (Ronny Jhutti) devise a plan to double-cross their boss. But what seems like a foolproof scam soon leaves them on the run from two rival drug lords – one black and one Asian.
Hooking up with a group of Chinese DVD pirates, their jaunt sees them indulge in a spot of medieval sword-play and Morris dancing as they seek to blend in with village locals near their hideout – eluding the obligatory henchmen sent to polish them off on the way.
Chana and Shah have just about enough experience to carry the film, but they cannot overcome the deficiencies of a script that is woefully hackneyed in places. Suffering from the usual identity crisis of the 'comedy-drama', its dark pretensions are frequently undermined as it descends into farce – not helped by the wooden delivery of some of the less screen-savvy cast.
The relentless pace saves the film to some extent, leaving you more likely to feel confused than bored, while the fast, abstract cuts – despite shamefacedly imitating the likes of Lock, Stock ... - are effective, if a little over used.
In a way, it's heartening budget films like this are being produced, as without them the industry would be poorer for it. But if Britain is to challenge the current crop of US leftfield indie films, it will take a firmer grasp of the nuances of dialogue and plot than Cash and Curry has to offer.
EXTRAS Hot trailer; Mild trailer; Triads, Yardies and Onion Bhajees trailer; Making of; Bhajees to Curry documentary; Film festivals featurette; Radio interview