Wedding Season Review: Netflix Rom-Com Succeeds With Heart & Sincerity
Wedding Season may seem to be another Hallmark-Esque romantic comedy from Netflix, but it is a delightful effort that will warm the hearts of its spectators.
Wedding Season follows Asha (Pallavi Sharda), a young Indian woman who has recently had a few substantial changes in her life. She ended her meeting with a well-off bachelor who was mom-approved. She also ended her career in banking to get into microeconomics. Her mother, Suneeta (Veena Sood), is overly concerned with her daughter’s wedding prospects and decides to set her up on a dating website hoping to use modern tactics to arrange a marriage for her. Of course, Asha wholeheartedly thinks differently. Enter Ravi (Suraj Sharna). Asha and Ravi meet as he also has been set up by his parents. The two don’t quite hit it off, but after a few run-ins, Asha comes up with an idea that will not rebound — she and Ravi pretend to date to appease their parents and be free from their pressure.
Pallavi Sharda and Suraj Sharma have lovely chemistry despite the fact the dissertation for their characters isn’t ideal when it comes to creating their romance. However, there is enough that will have the audience grinning at these two. Their scenes together feel simple and that is all anyone can ask for when it comes to romance. If the central couple doesn’t have chemistry, everything falls apart. Sharda and Sharma also have the benefit of playing personalities that are written well and have equal presence in the movie. If there were fewer montages and more scenes with them getting to know each other, then the Wedding Season would have been perfect.
Wedding Season follows this fake, but real, couple as they steer the pressures their parents put on them. It is easy to have a film skate by without the characters reckoning with the fact that love and a wedding should be an independent journey, not one dictated or assessed by parents. Wedding Season gives time and space for both Asha and Ravi to face their issues head-on in a manner that is both satisfying and honest. While the writing for the central couple is lacking in the romantic scenes, there is a great sense of understanding and genuineness in building up who they are as people and the relationship they have with their parents. These scenes allow Veena Sood, Rizwan Manji, Meher Pavri, and Manoj Sood to playfully realized characters, not just caricatures of overbearing Indian parents.
Shiwani Srivastava’s script is simple and to the point, but the carefulness and honesty that permeates throughout add to the overall experience. Tom Dey well directs, but there is nothing spectacular about his work, which is unfortunately expected from Netflix. The entire output doesn’t feel as bland as many other Netflix rom-com, which is a credit to cinematographer Meena Singh, who provides a hint of that cinematic sheen. Danielle Sahota’s production design is critical in helping each scene feel like it was not filmed in an empty hotel or office building. There is a liveliness to each setting that allows the story to flourish. There is considerable effort put into making a helpful and fun family dramedy for the audience to enjoy.
By no means does Wedding Season reinvent the wheel, but it is undeniably entertaining. While it may be a bit flat regarding the romance (and the comedy, for that matter), there is a winning sincerity to how it reaches the central drama, which makes up for what it lacks in the rom-com department. Sharda and Sharma are also incredibly charismatic and enjoyable actors to watch. Hopefully, Wedding Season will open up a world of likelihoods for the two of them. All in all, the film is deeply formulaic but succeeds by wearing its heart on its sleeve.