Born in Illinois to immigrant parents, Ravi Patel is a typical first-generation American: shaped by two cultures, he feels the inherited traditions of the old country but is irrepressibly ‘Murican in every significant way.
This dual nature is put on breezy display in “Meet the Patels,” an amusing documentary in which Ravi (and sister Geeta Patel, his mostly unseen co-director) tracks a particularly fraught moment in his family’s life.
Ravi is 29, and his parents — humorous dad Vasant and anxious mom Champa — are antsy about him meeting a nice Indian woman and getting married. They come from a culture of arranged marriages, and since there’s already a system like that in place, why bother with the complicated American dating game?
The film has many amusing revelations about this world. Prospective brides and grooms exchange their “biodata” online and filter through potential matches.
Ravi’s parents would really like it if Ravi chose someone from the extended Patel universe — “Patel” is essentially the “Smith” of India. In one of the movie’s best sequences, Vasant patiently sits down with Ravi to explain how members of the vast family tree are spread out in different geographic areas.
It would be good to meet a woman from this branch of the Patels. But over here? No, no, these are disreputable Patels.
So Ravi, who recently broke up with a redhead from Connecticut, reluctantly agrees to travel to India and make the dating rounds — where practically everyone asks him why he isn’t married yet.
“Meet the Patels” is a funny, lightweight look at the weight of cultural traditions. (Ravi has never told his parents about dating white women, it seems.)
What keeps me from loving it is the way the storyline feels forced onto the documentary form. I couldn’t help sensing that Ravi was flirting with the idea of the arranged marriage system because it would make a funny, lightweight documentary.
He’s a Hollywood actor — an engaging presence, for sure — and his sister has credits in documentary moviemaking, despite Ravi’s warning that we are essentially watching a home movie with rough edges.
And speaking of co-director Geeta, surely the fact that she is four years older than Ravi and unmarried herself would cause even greater issues in the tradition-minded Patel household, but this rarely comes up. If that implies a sequel, worried parents Vasant and Champa should have even more prominent roles — they’re good company.
“Meet the Patels” (two and a half stars)
An amusing documentary about an Indian-American actor, Ravi Patel, who reluctantly bows to his tradition-minded parents’ desire to get him an arranged marriage. The storyline seems a little engineered for entertainment value, but the cultural differences make for interesting observations and Ravi’s impatient parents are good company.
Rating: PG, for subject matter
Showing: Sundance Cinemas Seattle
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