All in Good Time   Starring: Harish Patel, Meera Syal, Amara Karan and Reece Ritchie StudioCanal RRP: £17.99 OPTD2391 Certificate: 12 Available 24 October 2012

The wedding feast is over and Atul's father's drunken bhangra dancing and arm-wrestling has robbed the happy couple of the wedding limelight. Spending the night at Atul's family home, when it is finally time for bed, Atul is so woefully inhibited by the proximity of his parents, that his beautiful virgin bride remains just that. When their hard-earned honeymoon is cancelled the day after the wedding, the newlyweds have no choice but to return to the Dutt household and set up home there. As prying family members and gossipy neighbours keep the couple from consummating their marriage, Atul and Vina start to panic. If they can just keep their situation private, and if they can just get a bit of time alone, all could be saved for this pair...

All in Good Time is centred around a close knit, larger-than-life British Asian family living in present day Bolton. It's a light-hearted tale of two newly weds who have trouble consummating their marriage - and when this news gets out it becomes even more troublesome.

Also added to the mix is the strained relationship between Atul and his father, Eeshwar, - a realistic portrayal that fathers and sons the world over will recognise.

In truth the film works or fails on the merits of one actor, Harish Patel, who plays Eeshwar. If we don't warm to his larger than life antics then his relationship with his family won't work either. Patel has perfect comic timing, and despite the fact he's supposed to be a little overbearing and a slight bully, the actor brings such a warmth to the character that you can't help but like him.

There's also an ongoing back story about Eeshwar's childhood friend which provides large amounts of comedy (the story of the two of them going to the fun fair on Eeshwar and Lopa's honeymoon is one of the movie's highlights) and tragedy (what ever happened to him? Why would he just vanish off the face of the earth after they were so close?) For me this side of the movie was far more interesting than Atul and Vina bedroom problems.

Extras include Interviews with Reece Ritchie (Atul) (5 min); Amara Karan (Vina) (3 min, 55 sec); Harish Patel (Eeshwar) (2 min, 11 sec); Meera Syal (Lopa) (3 min, 22 sec); and Nigel Cole (Director) 4 min, 37 sec); U.K. Premiere Red Carpet Featurette (3 min, 02 sec clips of the film and interviews with cast and crew on the red carpet); and Trailer (2 min, 14 sec).

It's a sweet, realistic comedy that is well worth checking out.

7

Nick Smithson