Wild West Movie Review

Wild West: Cute idea, dumb execution. Not everything that comes out of the hallowed halls of London's Channel Four is an instant classic on the level of My Beautiful Laundrette. Three Pakistani brothers form a Country Western band called the Honky Tonky Cowboys. Their ultimate destination is Nashville, but on the road to fame and fortune, the oldest brother Zaf (Naveen Andrews) falls for Rifat (Sarita Choudhury), a beautiful woman married to a real churl. Strictly on the basis of his strong attraction to her, Zaf decides, without ever hearing her sing a note, that Rifat is the ideal leader for the band. She is. But the money men only want her, not the brothers. In a staggeringly cliched sequence that's right in keeping with everything else in Wild West, Rifat, Zaf, and the brothers all do the right thing, the credits roll, and that's that. Wild West is a cute movie to watch at home on a foggy London night, but it's pretty thin stuff on the big screen. Mississippi Masala fans may want to catch it for the always watchable Sarita Choudhury.

1993 83m/C GB Naveen Andrews, Sarita Choudhury, Ronny Jhutti, Ravi Kapoor, Bhasker; D: David Attwood; W: Harwant Bains; C: Nicholas D. Knowland. VHS