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Reviews
Cuddle Weather (2019)
Pleasantly surprised!
This popped up on my Netflix page, and I thought I'd give it a shot. Let me tell you, I loved it! The acting is incredible, first of all, and the storyline isn't your cliche love romance, it actually discusses a lot of the problems and taboos in being a sex worker. The writing was really phenomenal, it just felt so real. The cinematography and aesthetics of this movie is great too! Overall, DEFINITELY give this movie a shot.
Never Have I Ever (2020)
I thought it'd be a heartfelt story about learning to love your culture - I was wrong
I was thinking Netflix would be making a mature coming-of-age show that plays around the caveats of Indian culture & Asian stereotypes, and yes the first few episodes played into that, but ultimately I felt no resolution or growth in terms of culture? They addressed it for a few episodes, and then just kind of left it. It honestly felt like a mere plot driver and marketing scheme. The episode with Prashant felt like a soap opera, in a bad way.
I understand these characters are teenagers and they're still figuring things out, but it just felt so in ingenuine & some of the things Devi said were completely out of line? Especially with her friends, it just felt like she was being so self-interested and neglecting them again and AGAIN. She was ridiculously obsessed with Paxton, self-centred and rude up till the last 15 minutes of the show. I just couldn't see any growth/development in her character as she repeated her mistakes dozen of times, and the last episode felt incredibly rushed.
She never showed any liking towards Ben, why does she suddenly feel attracted to him in the last episode when all she's been doing is being disillusioned by Paxton? I'm glad she went with Ben, as with Paxton she can't really be comfortable with her own culture and identity & he's a representation of what the Western world wants for her. But it felt so rushed and ingenuine.
And why does it ALWAYS HAVE TO BE ABOUT LOVE? I know it's for a young audience, but I would've appreciated a story about learning to be comfortable with your own Asian identity and culture in a glorified western world, I don't mind love, but it shouldn't be the main focus. It was just 2 men vying for her. Which, mind you, Paxton is FULL of red flags and mixed signals.