Movie Review: 'Polite Society' is So Much Fun

Polite Society (2023)

Directed by Nida Manzoor

Written by Nida Manzoor

Starring Priya Kansara, Ritu Arya

Release Date April 28th, 2023

Published May 2nd, 2023

Polite Society is a charmer. This story of sisters, a weird wedding conspiracy, and wild stunt work, is highly unconventional and succeeds fully on the charm of its star. Priya Kansara is plucky teenager, Ria Khan, who dreams of being a stuntwoman. Her dreams are supported by her loving sister, Lena (Ritu Arya), a struggling artist who has been forced to move home. There, Lena takes great care to record her little sister's stunt videos in which she mimics famous female stunt women and posts the videos to her YouTube channel.

The sisterly bond is put to the test when the family attends a party at the home of a rich family. The mother of this rich family, Raheeta (Nimra Bucha), is very eager to marry off her handsome, doctor son, Salim (Akshay Khanna), and she has her eye on Lena. It's a little odd, Lena is attractive but she's a depressed, failed artist from a middle class family, hardly the most likely wife of a rich man. This sets off Riya who is immediately suspicious of Raheeta and Salim.

Cleverly, the film posits many of Ria's concerns as coming from a place of insecurity and not wanting to lose her sister. Ria clearly feels that if her sister gives up her dream of being an artist, their parents will see it as an opportunity to tell her not to follow her dream of being a stuntwoman. The film holds on to the conceit that what is happening is all in Ria's head while deftly seeding some evidence that maybe, just maybe, there is something weird going on and the film builds brilliantly off of that premise.

Fun is the key to Polite Society. Everyone in the movie is having a terrific time. The palpable sense of fun on the set translates into the entire movie which is a joyous celebration of Bollywood and Hollywood action movies, lifting and cleverly combining tropes from both. This includes a wonderful dance sequence that demonstrates what a tremendous star young Priya Kansara is. On top of her martial arts work in the film, her dancing is superb and the clever misdirection at play in the scene is terrific fun.

The cast of Polite Society is absolutely wonderful. I've already mentioned the terrific lead performance by Priya Kansara but I should mention that Ritu Arya's Lena is quite something as well, especially when the two team up to kick butt late in the movie. Then there are Ria's private school friends, a delightful duo, played by Seraphina Beh and Ella Bruccoleri. Watch these three together and you will wish you had friends who have your back they way they have Ria's. The scheming they get up to in Ria's attempt to stop her sister's wedding are priceless comedy.

Sadly, it appears that I am very late to this party. Polite Society was released on April 28th, 2023 and played to a lot of empty rooms. The film absolutely bombed at the box office and that is such a shame. This movie is so much fun. Everyone should see Polite Society but with box office numbers like the one this film pulled on its first weekend in wide release, the chance to see Polite Society in theaters will be very, very limited. That said, if you're reading this, I cannot urge you enough to see Polite Society. You will have an amazing time.

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