Garam Masala Is Stressful, Funny and Full of Red Flags, and Paresh Rawal's Mambo Is the One to Root For

We finished Garam Masala calling it a solid, well done movie with genuinely funny moments, even though neither of its leading men is likable. In short, it's "the most stressful movie I've watched in a minute," and both of us agreed the one character we could root for is the uncle who does the cooking.

Akshay Kumar's slapstick and the timing of Garam Masala impressed us

The chemistry between Akshay Kumar and John Abraham was called "like A+" on our end, along with their comedic timing together. Akshay Kumar's physical comedy got particular credit: the slapstick felt spot on, and the shots weren't overly cut up. You saw all of the falling over chairs and the trips, and you could tell it was him rather than a double.

We also thought it was directed and shot well. The choreography of people going in and out of rooms, with the girls hidden away, kept the tension going for a long time, and that has to be difficult to put together.

Mac and Sham are "red flag central"

Looking at it today, these guys are walking red flags. "They are red flag central." We agreed that "Mac is a champion gaslighter," turning everything around until the other person feels guilty. It was a little triggering, which made it hard to fully enjoy, even while it was still genuinely funny.

Sham isn't much better. If Sham were in Mac's position, he'd be doing the same thing, guaranteed. We also noted Mac proposes to the women with a ring he takes back, which got called a red flag the women should have spotted.

Uncle Mambo is the character closest to us

At first Mambo seems like a jerk, which is the irony, because he ends up being the most real one of the bunch. Paresh Rawal was called a really good actor, and his comedy here is subtle next to two over the top comedic leads. He plays it fairly straight, reacting the way we would from the outside, and the movie wouldn't be as good without him.

The women were mostly awful to him despite all his cooking, and that is how you tell how a person really is. The first girl seemed to be the only nice one.

The setup feels like two movies, but the ending lands

Our main story complaint is the long preamble. The photography thread never comes back, Sham's photo theft never pays off, and the woman they were fighting over just disappears. It felt like two movies, which raised the question of whether it could have been written more seamlessly. It did give the film glamorous locations and an excuse for music videos.

The ending, with the women mobbing the guys, was a satisfying one even if it ended abruptly. There was a worry that Mac would get away with it, and relief that he didn't, since otherwise the moral would be questionable. The moral we landed on: don't do that to people.

It was also interesting to see John Abraham here after only seeing him in Rocky Handsome, a serious, emotional part that is completely the opposite.

What do you think the moral of Garam Masala is?