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My Name Is Khan
An interesting take on the state of America and our acceptance of others
Tags: My Name Is Khan Categories: DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Aug 25th, 2010
There are two flaws with My Name Is Khan that will prevent it from becoming accepted by most viewing audiences. Some may think the unfamiliarity with the lead cast would be an issue, but that isn’t the case. There is a marked chemistry between the two leads Shahrukh Khan and Kajol. They are major stars in India, one of the all-time classic duos who have been paired together several times before.
Instead, what brings the film down is the fact is the story feels like two films and at 2 hours and 40 minutes, it really feels like sitting through two films as well. The first half of My Name Is Khan is a bit of a romantic comedy, where Shahrukh Khan portrays Rizwan Khan, a man suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome. There is a bit of family drama, but mostly it is Khan and his eventual journey to America where he meets up with Mandira, a single mother played by Kajol. This is a great film, and highly enjoyable.
The second half of the film shift remarkably in tone to a political drama. Shaped by the events of 9/11 Khan and Mandira split over a horrific event in their personal lives. It is almost as if these two stories were separate, but the screenwriters couldn’t find a way to make them into separate films, because these are some real different ideas taking place.
While the first problem has to do with the film’s length and the dual nature of the stories, the second major flaw with My Name Is Khan has to do with some timeline and factual errors that shouldn’t be taking place. Yes, there are some liberties naturally that can be taken for storytelling, but for the purposes of this film it seems as if there was no fact checking taking place.
Despite these, admittedly major, issues, My Name Is Khan has some interesting things to say about America and its freedoms, as well as love and persistence. The problem is that most people won’t bother to get past the fact that neither of the two lead actors are familiar, nor get past the issues the film has. The acting is great, particularly Shahhrukh Khan as Rizwan, afflicted with Asperger’s. He delivers a truly convincing performance.
As for the special features, the DVD is decidedly light. A few fluffy featurettes that are artificially broken apart and some musical-themed promotional reels (like extended trailers) are on the disc. I wasn’t expecting an audio commentary, but a decent behind the scenes featurette would have been nice. Still, there are some decent bits of interview.
You know already if you are interested in renting My Name Is Khan. I would recommend going ahead and doing so, just be aware that it’s longer than you expect. Maybe you can break up watching the film into two parts, the first session ending after Khan and Mandira are sitting in bed together (don’t want to get too specific to spoil anything).
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Great acting + Good story (both of them) |
6.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Too long (two films in one, literally) - Timeline is off |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Serious flaws, but worth checking out if you're interested. | |
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Tags: My Name Is Khan
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Aug 25th, 2010 and is filed under DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
