'Honeymoonish' Review: Director Elie Semaan's hilariously relatable rom-com story lights up Netflix
KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT: 'Honeymoonish' aka 'Shahr zii aleasal' is a rom-com movie streaming on Netflix from April 29, 2024. The movie directed by Elie Semaan tells the story of two newlyweds Noor (Nour AlGhandour) and Hamad (Mahmoud Boushahri) who discover that they are opposites just after they get married.
'Honeymoonish' gives the world a glimpse into the largely unexplored Kuwait City where it has been largely filmed.
The film is vibrant and quirky and is shot colorfully and brightly keeping up with the upbeat vibe of this film. Here's our detailed review of 'Honeymoonish'.
Witty writing and situational comedy make 'Honeymoonish' funny
Eiad Saleh's writing is the biggest hero of the film. He puts the characters into complicated situations and how they behave in those situations is what creates humor.
The characters are sketched out perfectly and you can see how different they are from each other. Hamad and Noor get married only a week after meeting each other. Hamad has to get married for inheritance and Noor wants to get back on her ex who got married soon after leaving her.
With characters sketched and established perfectly, it is all about putting them in dire situations and seeing them react.
The chemistry between the two characters is appropriately missing in the early part of the film and develops beautifully as the film wears on. You see the characters growing as people and as a couple.
Vibrant visuals add to the comedic setup
The film looks bright visually. The use of color in costumes and art direction adds significantly to the look and feel of the film. The locations have also been chosen well and go with the vibe of the film.
The cinematography is often underrated in such films but for this film, it needs to be appreciated because the city and the whole premise of the film play a character here. The direction overall by Elie Semaan is very well done. He has a strong grip on comedy and makes sure that he keeps the film situational and avoids anything bordering on slapstick.
The one drawback of the film is perhaps its music. As a viewer, you'd expect the music to reflect more about the region but it ends up being generic.
Nour AlGhandour and Mahmoud Boushahri are exceptional in their performance
Above and beyond the storytelling, this is a film about two humans going through a situation and coming out of it as better human beings who have found their soulmate.
The two lead actors Mahmoud Boushahri and Nour AlGhandour are perfect for their roles and have enthused life into this performance. They are believable and relatable.
They go through different situations in the film and come up trumps in all of them particularly the scenes that involve comedy. They can create drama without over-emoting their scenes which makes the film look natural and close to reality.
'Honeymoonish' trailer
'Honeymoonish' is streaming on Netflix from April 29, 2024