It occurred to me last week while listening to a podcast that I’d never posted my review of Slumdog Millionaire. I wrote the review ages ago, even posted it in a few places, but never got around to putting together the epic comic that I had planned to do for the film. It involved the plot of the movie not being as effective if Salim had gone on The Price Is Right. As charming a story as it may be, “I was once covered from head to toe in human waste� is not the correct price for a can of peas.

The podcast was talking about Slumdog because of the recent troubles that one of the younger actors was having. I came up with this Keanu joke and liked the simplicity of it. Better late than never right?

Oh and me posting reviews with no comics isn’t so rare. Check the boards for my thoughts on stuff like Drag Me To Hell and The Soloist.

Slumdog Millionaire

Starring: Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Irrfan Khan, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Rubiana Ali, Tanay Chheda, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar

Directed by: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan

Fox Searchlight

The Official Site of Slumdog Millionaire

Discuss Slumdog Millionaire the boards!

Slumdog Millionaire was ruined for me. Not in a sense that some great big twist was revealed before I saw the movie, none of the characters here are really ghosts talking to little kids that can see dead people (thought that would have been pretty awesome), instead it was ruined for me in terms of expectations. I bought the hype. I believed what the Internet told me, that this little independent movie from the other side of the world had done the impossible and turned the backdrop of a simple game show into one of the most creative love stories of our time. It was going to do shock the world. It was going to make me look at the life in a whole new way! (Spoiler alert for this review – it didn’t)

What a terrible way to watch a movie. There’s no way any movie could meet that inflated level of expectation and for some reason that didn’t click with me until it was too late. I sat through a pretty damn good movie waiting for it to achieve the impossible perfection that was promised to me in some on line blog.

So I was out of luck due to the evil online hype machine, but will Slumdog Millionaire change your life? That depends. Will you go in expecting it to be something it can’t be or will you accept it for the simple, sweet story of family and love in a far away land that it is?

Jamal is the title’s Slumdog and we meet him on the set of India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire where he’s one question away from being the richest gofer ever to play the game. How could a boy of such humble means possibly know the answers to such difficult questions (I only got two right playing along in the theater!)? Well the cops and the producers of Millionaire are as curious as the audience and we get our explanation from inside a police interrogation room.

The questions are reviewed one by one, each with a flashback from Jamal’s life where we see how he came to know the answers. It’s such a great use of such a random game show. It’s like giving someone your medical history by playing The Family Feud. In the flashbacks we see not only the answers but also glimpses of Jamal’s life growing up on the streets of Mumbai dealing with being orphaned by a holy war, living out of junkyards, being recruited by a child panhandling ring (seriously), nearly losing an eye and swindling tourists out of their money and shoes with his brother Salim.

The only constant in Jamal’s life is Latika, a fellow orphan he befriended, fell for and swore to protect even as the twists of life kept them apart. His whole reason for going on the popular game show is the hope that Latika will see it and they could be reunited. So he answers every question hoping to get them right, just so he can be on TV a little longer in case she tuned in a little late.

Very sweet and equally convincing thanks to the nine actors that play Jamal, Latika and Salim at various ages. While they held the film together just fine I could have used more from both the bombastic host of Millionaire (Anil Kapoor) and the Inspector interrogating Jamal throughout (Irrfan Khan). Both are given one scene to show some depth but there’s a missed opportunity in not exploring these characters further. Slumdog is foremost a story about the three kids and their tale of survival but it’s also a story being told to these two supporting characters As an audience we’re in the same position as them and had we had the opportunity to relate to them a little more I think the movie would have been stronger for it.

Largely though there’s little to complain about. Things arguably become predictable and conventional but there more to appreciate than not. Slumdog moves quickly, is well told and beautifully shot. It’s the most complete film from Danny Boyle who was already an accomplished and diverse directing force, but just because I’ve got nothing to complain about doesn’t mean it moved me. The movie that was supposed to change my life didn’t even make me shed a tear and… wasn’t it supposed to?

That’s what I got wrapped up in but what about you? Is it going to change your life or just be another victim of high expectation or more likely fall somewhere in-between? Don’t take my word for it. Find out for yourself if this sweet little masterpiece is worth all the praise.

Rating: 7 out of 10 - Posting this now after the similarly complimentary but far from glowing review of Up might not be the best of ideas. People love to love these movies and I wasn’t touched the way I’d hoped to be by either. I fear that my opinion will be mistaken for ignorance and that’s really the worst part about doing JLCM. People want to assume I hate something just because I didn’t love it. Especially when they have that pile of Oscars backing up their appreciation of the film. Still, There is a world of difference between hating a film and not loving a film. 7 out of 10 is pretty good right?

Slumdog has been out on DVD for a couple months now and I wonder how many of the people that adored it bothered to purchase it let alone watch it again. I saw the film twice and I think that I’m done with it for a while. Perhaps come Oscar season next year I’ll be eager to revisit the past. Probably not enough to buy anything though.

I’m off to bed. Sweet dreams guys and gals.