REVIEW: Netflix’s Wedding Season Takes Fake Dating to a Whole New Level
Netflix is continuing its Summer of Love with its newest romantic comedy, Wedding Season. Written by Shiwani Srivastava and directed by Tom Dey, the movie follows career focused, super-smart economist, Asha (Pallavi Sharda), who is fed up with her parents’ constant nagging about not having a boyfriend. After her mother, wonderfully played by Veena Sood, sets her up on a dating app to find the perfect Indian man, Asha decides to take her dating life into her own hands by enlisting the help of Ravi (Suraj Sharma). Ravi is a young man who has all the time in world, but like Asha, also has parents nagging him to get married. The two hatch out a plan to be each other’s plus ones to their countless family weddings, so their parents, Aunties, and Uncles will get off their backs. However, what they didn’t expect was to actually fall for each other. Now, the two must figure out what is real about their “fake” relationship and what is indeed fake.
The fake relationship trope has been done countless times in romantic comedies. From Netflix’s The Holidate to its most recent romance movie, Purple Hearts, Netflix is no newcomer when it comes to couple pretending to be in a relationship, but this movie feels different for a few reasons. The first all comes down to the the climatic twist. Featured in most rom-coms, this twist wasn’t quite the twist I was expecting, It was a nice and refreshing idea that really made this romantic comedy a little different than any of its counterparts. The second, was the the focus on Asha’s family and co-workers. In a majority of rom-coms, there is a either a perky best, career nemesis, or ex that gets in the way of the couple’s happiness, but this movie had none of that. Asha’s parents, sister, Priya (Arianna Afsar), and Asha’s soon to be brother-in-law, Nick (Sean Kleier) played major roles in Asha’s story, as did her co-workers, Tina (Ruth Goodwin) and James (Damian Thompson). Srivastava found a way to seamlessly weave these characters into the story without taking away from Asha’s story nor making them feel like filler characters.
The other thing to note is the movie highlighted a pretty healthy relationship between Asha and Ravi. At no point did I say to myself, “Why is one with the other one?” Each one was supportive and realistic with each other, even though the relationship was fake. Of course, they each had their dramatic moments, it wouldn’t be a rom-com if they didn’t, but I finished the movie happy with how everything turned out for the two.
Sharma and Sharda were the perfect leads for this movie. The two were funny and had great chemistry, not only with each other but with their costars as well. Sood, Rizwan Manji (Asha’s father), Afsar, Kleier, Goodwin, and Thompson round out the cast and were all a delight. The entire cast was a joy to watch on screen, no matter the pairing.
Is Wedding Season a great movie, no. But it is a fantastic rom-com. The fake dating trope may have been done countless times over the years, but Wedding Season has brought a new light to the storyline. I highly suggest you grab your favorite comfort food, cuddle up on the couch, and check this movie out.
Grade: A