Chutney Popcorn takes up where quirky lesbian-themed comedy Go Fish left off. The twist? Reena (director Nisha Ganatra) is of Indian descent, but her girlfriend, Lisa (Law & Order's Jill Hennessy), is not. This isn't a problem in and of itself. Reena's mother, however, views her daughter's sexual orientation as a "disability" and describes Lisa as Reena's "college roommate." Then there's Reena's uptight sister, Sarita, who discovers she can't conceive and draws even further away from her sibling. When Reena offers to be a surrogate, things just get worse. Lisa flees for fear that a baby will ruin her relationship with Reena, while Sarita changes her mind--but it's too late: Reena is pregnant (via artificial insemination). There's a happy ending, of course, but fortunately it isn't too happy--you get the sense that Sarita still has a way to go before she can accept herself as fully as her unconventional, artistic sister. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
(15 votes)
2.
To call CHUTNEY POPCORN a chick flick would be ironic, as the film treats a wide variety of topics with an openness that is careful not to exclude any group--specifically men. However, the film is, in essence, about women loving women--as sisters, as mother and daughter, as friends, as lovers--so to call it anything other than a chick flick would be a lie. Nisha Ganatra, the film's director and writer, stars as the excellent, introspective, accepting lead Reena. She peacefully glides past flowing grain fields on her motorcycle, paints henna designs on her beautiful blond girlfriend, Lisa (Jill Hennessy, whose lovely muscular arms will win over any viewer, regardless of sexual preference), snaps photos of other henna-painted "dykes," and participates in traditional ceremonies with her Indian-American family. However, when Reena offers to be a surrogate mother for her sister, Sarita (Sakina Jaffrey), and her white brother-in-law, Mitch (Nick Chinlund), all of the film's relationships--familial and romantic, begin to shift. The hilarious artificial insemination scenes are rife with complex tension. Each member of the family--especially Reena's mother, Meena (Madhur Jaffrey)--has weird feelings about the plan. With a fitting acoustic guitar soundtrack and a light-hearted approach to asking serious questions about difficult issues, Ganatra gets viewers thinking with CHUTNEY POPCORN.
(15 votes)
3.
"A sexy, engaging comedy…" -Vanity Fair
Lisa and Reena are young, happy, and in love, but when Reena agrees to become a surrogate mother for her childless sister, the cultural divide between Reena's Indian family and their lesbian lifestyle hits home. Chutney Popcorn is a delightful and heartfelt comedy about the cultural struggles between immigrant parents and their Americanized children and the strength of family ties. Ultimately, Chutney Popcorn offers a refreshing look at one contentious and loving family reinventing itself.
(15 votes)
Mooviees.com is not the official site for this film.
All editorial views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only.
Movie Database
In Theaters
