Ali’s Wedding (2017)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Ali’s Wedding (2017) – J. Walker

It is great to see a mainstream rom-com set in the Muslim community in Australia.  The film is based on a “true story” (drawn from the life of writer/star Osamah Sami) and smartly addresses cultural differences, particularly for the first generation born in Australia who are essentially bicultural (and subject to a conflict between parents’ views and friends’ views) -- but does so in a very light-hearted way.  Ali (Sami) is a bit of a fool for love which leads him to pretend that he was accepted into the medicine program at Melbourne Uni just to please his parents and the Lebanese girl with whom he is smitten. Of course, he gets himself into silly predicaments and also has to cope with some snooty rivals in the mosque who are jealous because he is the son of the head cleric.  The title refers to the arranged marriage that Ali finds himself shoehorned into by his parents which he desperately wants to escape.  The film doesn’t shy away from the problems of the community (Ali’s older brother died by stepping on a landmine in Iran after the family fled from Saddam Hussein’s reign in Iraq) and there are a few jokes about being perceived to be terrorists.  The genre being what it is, however, things don’t get too serious – in fact, they tilt toward the overly sentimental side.  The direction by TV director Jeffrey Walker is nothing special – it could very well be made for the Australian small screen – but that’s probably just as well for a film that aims to remind everyone that this community has a lot in common with other Australians despite the obvious (surface) differences.