"Polite Society" - Review

Wannabe stuntwoman Ria Khan (Priya Kansara) lives in London and uploads frequently to her YouTube channel "Khan Fu", full of stunts, kicks and martial arts. She idolises her elder sister Lena (Rita Arya), who has recently dropped out of art school but still finds time to support her. So when she begins going out with a handsome doctor named Salim (Akshay Khanna), Ria is annoyed. She is convinced that her sister is better than being married off to some mummy's boy, and is not fulfilling her potential, so against the wishes of her parents (Shobu Kapoor & Jeff Mirza) and even Lena herself, "The Fury" vows to use her skills and savvy to put a stop to this wedding, even if it costs her relationships in the process...

At first a spunky, witty comedy with wonderful observations on life in the UK, it gets by wonderfully on the relationship between Ria and Leena, which is rich and wholesome, and has a few things to say about life in the UK as Pakistani women with their parents expecting things of them. Ria is a delightful character, especially alongside her friends Clara and Alba (highlights who act as comic relief for an already quite funny movie); and its use of title cards and Western tropes are a welcome addition which add a spice to proceedings. The gags come thick and fast, and it settles into a good groove with all of these aforementioned elements in place, there's something for everyone. The stand-offs/showdowns and kung-fu movie stare-downs between Ria and her future mother-in-law Raheela (Nimra Bicha, who is excellently catty) are quirkily inspired in the suburban setting. For a while it's a comfortable, witty movie about a teenage girl whose imagination is running away with her and is getting worked up and rightfully upset about losing her sister, which makes her intrinsically think about whether or not her own dreams are doomed to be left by the wayside...
Then comes the turn.
It's weird and bonkers, but fits the tone of the film, wierdly enough, and somehow manages to stick the landing: transforming this film into the first British-Pakistani-kung-fu-sci-fi-Western, with elements of a heist movie and complete with a cocky, colourful musical number. The catharsis and payoff are well-seeded and well-earned, and Priya Kansara is an absolute gem I want to go far.
Soundtrack slaps too.
A bombastic and colourfully creative, eccentric and exceedingly British romp which wears its colours on its sleeve and has me wanting to watch the maker's show.