Title: Shades Of Ray (2008)Starring: Zachary Levi, Sarah Shahi, Bonnie Somerville
Directed By: Jaffar Mahmood
First-time writer/director Jaffar Mahmood has created quite the cast of characters with Shades of Ray. They aren't necessarily the most original group of people to spend an hour and a half with, but they ARE a lot of fun.
At the heart of the story is Ray (Zachary Levi), a struggling half Caucasian/half Pakistani actor who has spent his entire life trying to establish his cultural self-identity. Furthering his internal conflict are his overbearing and quirky Pakistani father (Brian George) and his delusional white mother (Kathy Baker). His father insists Ray marry a nice Pakistani woman even though he is newly engaged to his white girlfriend (Bonnie Somerville). That's why he introduces his son to Sana (Sarah Shahi), a beautiful young family friend with similar heritage. Here's where Ray's conflict becomes something tangible, and not just all in his head. Also along for the ride is Ray's slapstick-prone childhood best friend/roommate Sal (Fran Kranz), who doesn't see Ray as white or brown, but as "just Ray".
That's actual dialogue by the way, and therein lies the only real problem with this movie. The script is far too caught up in the race issue, a fact that is acknowledged time and time again with spoken conversations between the characters. If for just one act of the film Mahmood had allowed his characters a chance to flourish and rise above cultural biases and self-defeating prophecies, than this film could have really shone. It's solid as is, but it could have been just a little bit better I think, if he had let their confidences do the talking sometimes instead of their hangups.
I still really enjoyed this movie, and that's thanks in part to some VERY strong performances by an incredibly talented cast. Recommended.
Score: 8/10
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