Review: WEST IS WEST - A Thoughtful, Worthy Extension to the Khan Family Saga

By Oliver Pfeiffer / July 1, 2011

rating: 3

The problem: how to follow up a smart, financially successful, critically acclaimed comedy that both honours its predecessors' memory but doesn't come across as smug, over familiar, wishy washy tat? The solution - dispense with half the original cast by setting events five years into the future, relocate the story and instead focus attention on developing a minor character while exploring an established one from an interesting angle. And so West is West leaves grotty, working class Salford for the sunny, unfamiliar exotica of Pakistan. Now, with most of the Khan clan having left the family nest, tyrannical patriarch George (Om Puri) turns his attention to youngest sun Sajid (newcomer Aquib Khan) who he wants to 'save' from his pubescent nightmare by transferring him to his home country to school him in the ways of his ancestors. But it isn't long before both of them come under scrutiny by the locals and George's extended family, with the arrogant father having to face up to the embittered wife he abandoned 35 years earlier. What follows is a more sombre tone to proceedings than we might have been expecting, along with the expected amusing moments that emerge from Sajid's resistance to immerse himself within an indigenous culture he doesn't understand. What's interesting however is the way it focuses on the character of George; revealing his human side and allowing us to almost sympathise with the overwhelming sense of dislocation he feels at being torn between two different families from two very different lives. For once you begin to understand where his arrogant personality stems from. Scenes with father and son reveal a different side to both characters that were previously hidden in East is East and make for a touching and deeper look into their personalities and predicaments. Although there isn't a single scene in the movie to rival the 'vagina sculpture landing on lap' moment from East, the humour when George's first wife Ella (Linda Bassett) and faddy duddy friend unexpectedly arrive on the scene to clash with the extended family is a welcome relief. However, akin to its predecessor, the sudden outburst of intense emotional drama following these more light-hearted moments can prove a bit jarring, particularly when exploring such hefty themes as responsibility, sacrifice and loss. It's probably best to view West is West as more of an extension of the Khan saga than a direct sequel to the original. Thanks in a large part to the choice of television veteran Andy DeEmmony (taking over directing duties from Damien O'Donnell) the film is given a whole new look and flavour than the first, while the notable role of youngest son Sajid is brilliantly brought to life by Aquib Khan who delivers hilarious foul-mouthed one liners like a true pro. In the end you have to conclude that this is a thoughtful, worthy follow up to the dramas of the Khan family, but somehow in ditching some of the colourful characters from East (particularly the sons played by Chris Bisson and Jimi Mistry - though the later does briefly appear in one scene) you do lose some of the fun that was integral to why East is East worked. West is West is released in the U.K. today.