A heavy, contrived bit of whimsy that doesn't even match its fluffily amusing Ross Hunter models...touches neither the heart nor the funnybone.
Touch of Pink (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:60
Fresh:22
Rotten:38
Average Rating:5/10
Consensus: Kyle MacLachlan does a very good imitation Cary Grant in this forced and contrived tale.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for sexual content and brief language
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Jul 16, 2004 Limited
Box Office: $188,206
Synopsis: Jimi Mistry (THE GURU, EAST IS EAST) stars in this charming and surprisingly poignant romantic comedy, which is driven by the humor that infuses the multifaceted cultural divide between the young... Jimi Mistry (THE GURU, EAST IS EAST) stars in this charming and surprisingly poignant romantic comedy, which is driven by the humor that infuses the multifaceted cultural divide between the young and old, Indian and Western, gay and straight--not to mention real and imaginary, alive and dead--characters. Alim is a young South Indian movie photographer living in London after relocating there from Canada. He lives with his boyfriend Giles (Kristen Holden-Reid), as well as the ghost of Cary Grant (Kyle MacLachlan), whom only Alim can see. Pursuing the ideal world presented in the films of Grant-era Hollywood, Alim seeks and then follows the advice of the ghost. This works out pretty well until his mother Nuru decides to come for a visit. She is a conservative Indian mother who is concerned at Alim's bachelorhood, especially in light of her nephew's impending wedding and the friendly sibling rivalry she shares with his mother. Madcap confusion ensues as Alim tries to keep Giles' true identity and his own, from being discovered by his mother, all the while trying to maintain composure in the style of his mentor. [More]
Starring: Jimi Mistry, Kyle MacLachlan, Suleka Mathew, Kristen Holden-Ried
Starring: Jimi Mistry, Kyle MacLachlan, Suleka Mathew, Kristen Holden-Ried
Director: Ian Iqbal Rashid
Director: Ian Iqbal Rashid
Screenwriter: Ian Iqbal Rashid
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
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Reviews for Touch of Pink
Middling screwball comic fantasia... a passable indie film calling card perhaps suited more for casting directors and potentially adventurous directors than general audiences.
I'd like to believe that the world has moved past being scandalized by otherness -- Those nutty Indians! Those outrageous gays! -- but Touch of Pink doesn't think so.
You may give up on Ian Iqbal Rashid's feature debut long before things get interesting, courtesy of a distracting conceit that shatters whatever spell the hackneyed premise might cast.
A true romantic comedy, closely following the formula of the Cary Grant/Rock Hudson/Doris Day movies of the late '50s and early '60s, Touch Of Pink relies more on witty dialogue and an underlying current of irony than on plot twists.
The story is tired, the comedy forced and the mother's larger-than-life quirks are an acquired taste.
Touch Of Pink is more of a save than a genuinely good movie. I'm recommending it because it turns out so much better than its clumsy start would lead anyone to expect.
The only real touch of class in the rickety little romantic comedy is Kyle MacLachlan's dead-on impersonation of Cary Grant's ghost.
It takes a while for him to find the right pace and rhythm, but the overall result is diverting yet provocative, and Rashid is as strong a director of actors as he is a writer capable of creating complex, multifaceted characters.
Even MacLachlan's surprisingly witty performance can't compensate for the trite screenplay and Mistry's lack of charisma.
Touch of Pink depicts the romantic challenges of a gay photographer in London who is carrying on a fantasy life with the spirit of Cary Grant.
For all the predictable devices ... as well as a plot that goes right, left, and idles on the train tracks, there's really enough going on here to sustain the film, even without Cary Grant. So he's a bonus, and a delightful one.
One of those supposedly small, personal movies that feel as committee-made and calculated as a Hollywood blockbuster.
With closeted gay Muslim Canadian men so woefully underrepresented in romantic comedies, I'm inclined to swallow the marshmallow samosa that is Touch of Pink with a polite smile of international cooperation.
Flat in its humor more often than not, the film somewhat redeems itself as it runs down.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
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