September 11, 2009
Cast: Lisa Ray, Sheetal Sheth
Director: Shamim Sharif
I Can’t Think Straight, written and directed by Shamim Sharif, is a lesbian love story, but one that’s stereotypical in its plot and amateurish in its treatment.
Lisa Ray stars as Tala, the daughter of a Jordanian tycoon, who’s been engaged four times and all set to take the plunge with her current boyfriend when she meets Leyla, a British-Indian writer (played by Sheetal Sheth) with whom she develops a fast friendship. Before you can say Ellen, the two ladies are locked in loving embrace, their friendship having quickly turned into love. Disposing off the men in their lives isn’t so much the problem for these ladies, as is their concern over coming out to their conservative families. While one does it in a quick, harsh blow, the other takes her time over it, thus alienating herself from her lover.
A clumsy kitchen-sink drama with hilariously bad acting from everyone involved, I Can’t Think Straight wastes too much time on scenes in which characters engage in dispassionate conversations about religion and politics. The coming-out scenes are poorly scripted and embarrassingly performed, and the film’s one sole merit is the sensitive handling of the relationships between both protagonists and their fathers.
At an hour and twenty minutes, it’s not a difficult watch; but the film fails to touch a chord because there’s no real dramatic conflict at all, making it hard to feel either sympathy or great affection for the leads.
I’m going with two out of five and an average rating for writer-director Shamim Sharif’s I Can’t Think Straight; it’s bland, boring, and at best an unintentionally amusing love story. Surely lesbians deserve better..?
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)