Polite Society: A Solid Action Comedy

If a movie has a shortcoming, there is usually something else that offsets it to create an experience worth sitting through. For example, if a movie has a cookie-cutter plot but really interesting action sequences (John Wick) the good will outweigh the bad and make a movie worth viewing. Polite Society is a great example of an imperfect movie with enough positives to outweigh the negatives which makes a strong enough case to view it in a theater.

Polite Society follows Ria (Priya Kansara), a teenager who aspires to be a stuntwoman, as she deals with her sister Lena (Ritu Arya)’s impending marriage to her new fiancé Salim (Akshay Khanna). Convinced that something nefarious is afoot, Ria makes it her mission to keep the marriage from happening. Jeff Mirza, Shona Babayemi, Seraphina Beh, and Shobu Kapoor also star.

The strength of the film comes from some of the stylistic choices that go into the action sequences combined with the comedy. The fights between Ria and various entities throughout the movie are heavily stylized, elevating them to the point where they are entertaining enough even when the choreography is a little lackluster. At the same time, the comedic points in the script do a great job of lending a helping hand to the narrative shortcomings to make it a little easier to overlook them.

The narrative is where the biggest issues lie, specifically during the third act over anything else. Without spoiling the plot, a turn happens from a more grounded family drama at the center of the plot to a weird science fiction story that feels disjointed from the first two-thirds of the film. It’s also a turn that’s unnecessary considering there are enough plot points established where the villain can still be a villain without stooping to golden-age comic book-level motivations. It also ends up going against the overall messaging of the movie which is that Ria’s abilities are not tied to her sister’s choices and her self-worth should be defined by herself because it becomes this weird unrealistic conflict at the emotional core of the film.

All of that is to say that the movie functions best as a comedy, even if it is being sold as an action film. The comedic aspects are fantastic and the majority of the moments land. The production design and costuming are top-notch as well which offsets some of the weaker moments involving the actual minutia of the fight sequences and the resolution of the narrative conflict. It is worth seeing in a theater, however, it will likely be on Peacock in the near future.

Final Rating: 8/10

Polite Society opens Friday, April 28th.