'Thank You For Coming' review: It's a lost cause
What's the story
After a long wait, Bollywood came with another movie which is led by an all-female cast, with male actors only in supporting roles. Karan Boolani's sex-comedy Thank You For Coming features Bhumi Pednekar in the lead, along with Dolly Singh and Shibani Bedi as her best buds.
This film, which revolves around female orgasm, is a lost cause; read our review to know why.
Story
Kanika's struggle to experience an orgasm
It's the story of Kanika "Kandu Kanika" who has never experienced an orgasm in her past relationships, even at 30.
She then gets engaged to Jeevan (Pradhuman Singh). When Kanika finally does hit the climax, she can't remember who was the man behind it - whether her fiancé or one of her three ex-boyfriends, Professor (Anil Kapoor), Arjun (Karan Kundrra), or Rahul (Sushant Divgikr).
Dull watch
Gets too preachy and boring
It tries to cover many topics such as self-doubt, self-love, women being judged for having multiple partners, judgment on being single, and so on and so forth.
Good that they tried to show relevant topics. But bad that they were all half-baked.
To top it all, the second half felt extra preachy which made me wish for it to end sooner.
Acts
You would expect a better act from Pednekar
Pednekar has done many path-breaking films and roles. I was hopeful that she might breathe life into this movie. Unfortunately, I'd term this as an over-the-top performance of hers.
But it's Dolly Ahluwalia as the Nani who I enjoyed watching the most. She was funny as well as warm. Bedi was good too, but the rest of the cast, including Shehnaaz Gill, were mediocre.
Writing
Underdeveloped characters
Radhika Anand has co-written it with stand-up comedian Prashasti Singh. Unfortunately, in their attempt to make the film funny, the writers forgot to develop its characters.
For instance, there's nothing more about Kanika except for her desire to reach climax and desperation to get married. Similarly, Kanika's friends seem to have no life beyond discussing Kanika's sexual desires and resolving her frustrations.
Verdict
Do yourself a favor, pass it!
When the trailer was released, it felt like a crass sex comedy. Thankfully, it isn't. Thank You For Coming might mostly be enjoyed by elite middle-aged women. For me, it didn't make the cut.
I'd still give it marks for attempting to talk about many things and "smashing patriarchy" but mostly for Kapoor's screen presence.
Verdict: 1.5 stars out of 5.