Lonely In America

Stars: Ranjit Chowdhry (Mississippi Masala), Adelaide Miller. "They drive a car worth more than our whole village!" Arun (Ranjit Chowdhry) exuberantly writes to his mother back home in India, about his uncle's wealth in the land of golden opportunities. Unfortunately, Arun is unhappy with the career his uncle has carved out for him: magazine kiosk seller. Struggling to make ends meet, Arun takes night classes in computer training and lands a decent day job with a local firm. But his laidback demeanor makes him an easy and unwitting mark for a fellow employee who has a scheme for bilking big bucks out of the company. While his uncle tries to arrange a marriage for him and his "friend" uses his apartment for make-out sessions, poor Arun goes to a lonely hearts meeting and learns the fine points of meeting women which, of course, leads to disaster...except for one girl. Co-written and directed by Barry Alexander Brown (editor of Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues and Do the Right Thing), Lonely in America skips the usual fish out of water format (get him drunk, take him to a bordello) to really play with the cross-cultural differences between the two nations. Not every joke or situation works, but much of the film does and the romantic trials and tribulations of the hero who is caught between centuries-old tradition and American freewheelingness are refreshingly comic. The film leaves you with a smile on your face; not many do. [Note: Spike Lee has a brief cameo at the beginning of the film.] Audience: People looking for a good comedy.