Americanish tries to be a lot of different things. Iman Zawahry and Aizzah Fatima have crafted a movie that is at once a romantic comedy, a coming-of-age film, and a culture-clash dramedy. Those are all genres that can work together well, and Zawahry and Fatima have an excellent cast to ground the material. But with a film trying to do so much, does it do any of it satisfactorily?
“Don’t you want us to have more than this? Be something?”
Sam (Aizzah Fatima) has fully broken from her traditional Muslim mother. She sneaks out at night, dating and even having sex. Sam holds down a job as a social media marketing consultant, where she handles social media strategy for a vacuous, racist ‘America First’ politician. It pays the mortgage on her mother’s house, which is good, because her father abandoned them when they were children and her mother doesn’t work.
But it’s also cramped. Her younger sister, Maryam (Salena Qureshi), shares a small room with Sam. Maryam is a senior in college with dreams of attending Harvard Medical School. Her grades are exceptional, thanks in part to her dedication to a study group with handsome but engaged Shahid (Kapil Talwalkar). Maryam is in love with Shahid, but even if he was available, could she make a relationship work when neither knows where they’ll be going to medical school next year?
Meanwhile, their cousin Ameera (Shenaz Treasury) has also moved into their cramped bedroom. Ameera is in America for six months, looking for a Pakistani-American doctor to marry in a hurry. Turns out a lot of Muslim women are looking for the same thing. Ameera befriends a local bodega owner, Gabriel (Godfrey), but prejudices against dark-skinned Black folks run deep in her culture. She’s happy to be his friend. But will she be able to give up her dreams of marrying a doctor in favor of a Black shopkeep?
“Yes. But first you go and get married and have children.”
At times, Americanish reminded me of Desire Akhavan’s Appropriate Behavior. Both films feature women wrestling with the romantic and cultural expectations of more conservative parents and the way those expectations have impacted their own relationships. But where Akhavan limits her film to a single protagonist, writer/director Iman Zawahry tries to fit three full storylines into a 90 minute film. That it works at all is a testament to her script; there isn’t a wasted scene in the film. But part of what makes a romance — or a romantic comedy — work is giving the relationship time to breathe. Americanish simply doesn’t have the time to linger on a loving gaze.
And, I should take that back: There are definitely wasted scenes. Sam, the oldest daughter, technically has a romantic subplot. It exists solely in four scenes: A meet-cute, another meet-cute, another meet-cute, and an epilogue. No chemistry, no idea why the relationship works, it’s just kind of… there. Which is strange! Sam’s main conflict in the film is finding her own identity between a conservative mother who wants her to be purely Pakistani and a conservative job that wants her to be purely American. The scenes where she meets Zane do nothing for this storyline.
Beyond that, it takes time away from the more robust romantic travails of Maryam and Ameera, both of which are genuinely interesting stories. Maryam wants a traditional relationship, but is forced to confront how that butts up against her academic ambitions. Ameera deals with societal racism in her romantic expectations. Either one of these could anchor a full, robust film — and one I would happily watch! But together, and with Sam’s story, none of them get quite as much room to breathe as they need.
“Then go, be whatever you want.”
Americanish is charming. It’s fun, and the relationship between Ameera, Sam, and Maryam is strong and well-drawn, thanks in part to three very solid performances. But it’s also too busy, uncertain about whether it wants its focus to be on the sisters or their romantic travails. It can’t do both. It tries, and it doesn’t really work.
At its best Americanish is a strong, insightful film. There are flashes of brilliance here. I love some of the lived-in character beats, like Ameera and Gabriel bonding over Eddie Murphy and mango lassi as we see the small, found Muslim community of the bodega. And I like that Maryam’s struggle isn’t one we see portrayed often. She’s a fundamentally conservative girl who is interested in a very traditional relationship. But she is also smart and ambitious, and these two things clash. Maryam is willing to sacrifice for her relationship, but the movie flips it to a more interesting question: Is her partner willing to do the same?
Ultimately, Americanish brings enough to the table that I enjoyed it, despite my qualms. I think a tighter, more focused film with this cast and degree of insight could have been truly exceptional, but as-is, it’s still solid. Iman Zawahry has crafted an incomplete but winning film.
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