After a string of good films, especially the delightful "Bend it Like Beckham", Chadha seems to have lost her footing. My favourite parts of the movie were the outdoor scenes in London's Southall community. It brought back childhood memories of the area. The acting is decent but the plot, even by screwball comedy standards, is completely unbelievable. I get that Chadha is satirizing the extent to which Indian mothers will go to marry off their offspring. Like thousands of other asians i've experienced that scene in the sikh temple (Gurdwara) first hand. In fact, the scenes depicting everyday life are done very well. What spoils the picture is the whole ghost thing. First off all there is no explanation as to how a mild mannered mother would commit such violent crimes. Surely, a subtle poisoning would have been more believable. Then there is the appearance of the "ghosts". They're not scary - just visually unappealing. Makes much of the film nauseating to watch. In the "making of" feature, on the DVD, one can tell that Chadha finds them hilarious. I just found them gross. Chadha also says the "Carrie" scene was her favourite. Again, I can't agree. It was sheer self-indulgence to film it - it adds nothing to the story. After the dismal financial failure of this ego driven piece, hopefully, Chadha will go back to what she does best - show the foibles, follies, and delights of life in the Asian community in London.

It might be a Wonderful Afterlife but it was even better when the movie ended. The story was basic and average and it didn't really hit you from the start. Sure the movie started off all good and well but when the spirits appeared, there were one or two funny scenes but it started becoming boring after a while and before you knew it, it started to drag on for too long. The characters weren't really well written and you just simply didn't care what happened to them. The acting wasn't good either as the actors could have done a little better in playing as their characters, although the actors who played the spirits were amusing from time to time. The writing is hit-and-miss because even though there were some okay scenes in the movie, sometimes it could drag on for too long. The directing isn't really bad and the script wasn't either but the movie just felt too rushed and unnecessary. There were quite a few scenes you could have taken out and you wouldn't have missed anything from the story.It was good for the first half an hour however, slowly but surely, it started to become tedious and boring. The acting wasn't bad but I have seen miles better from some of the cast such as Sendhil Ramamurthy, who plays Mohinder in Heroes. However, Sally Hawkins was great as Linda and she really lit up the movie. The movie's humour felt like it was trying to force itself to be funny too many times and, I admit, there were times when I laughed a little at the movie but there were some scenes that felt way too forced when it came to the humour department. There was one scene that just felt totally thrown in and random, I can't say much without spoiling the movie but you'll know what I mean if you decide to watch the movie, the scene involves Sally Hawkins. I was also disappointed with the fact that Preeya Kalidas, better known as Amira in Eastenders, was only in the movie for ten seconds. They should have used her more in the movie, as she is a great actress. Overall, if you want a movie that's hysterical, don't choose this one but if you want a comedy that is mildly entertaining, doesn't take itself seriously and will kill time, then this is perfect.Read more reviews at: www.dudedazzmoviereviews.wordpress.com

Granted the expectations were high because of Shabana Azmi but then again, what can one expect from Gurinder Chaddha. With the exception of her segment in 'Paris, Je T'Aime', I haven't been impressed by any of her work. That said, 'It's a Wonderful Afterlife' isn't that bad. I prefer it over the boring 'Bride and Brejudice'.The minus points are that Chaddha relies on too many Indian British clichés which have been done to death in many other films. I thought Azmi would have more screen time but was disappointed in that respect. The title is misleading. The story had so much potential but Chaddha messes it up. I didn't find the sequences with the ghosts to be amusing.Now the plus is that most of the jokes work. I was laughing out loud especially at the sequences with Sally Hawkins. The 'Carrie' homage, though out of place, had me laughing out loud. I thought Shabana Azmi was great with what she was given. she's mostly let down by the poor script. Goldy Notay is quite likable. Sendhil Ramamurthy is limited to playing the typical love interest. Zoe Wanamaker is wasted. Sally Hawkins is a scene stealer.Overall, I didn't mind 'It's a Wonderful Afterlife' for a one-time-watch. It made me laugh even though it could have easily been a much better movie.

I cannot believe that I have just come back from watching this film at the cinema, and the best thing about going was watching the film trailers before the actual film started. This is categorised as a "comedy horror"....it wasn't funny, and it would not scare my 5 year old nephew. The scary part was how bad the acting was and the storyline. The film concept did not work and it felt like a lot of the attempted jokes were too forced. The director attempted to make a film that would appeal to everyone but ended up as a huge disaster and did not have the fundamentals of being a good film. The director has made other hit films such as Bend It Like Beckham and Bride and Predajice and they were much more entertaining to watch. It was very surprised that such a highly rated directer managed to make such a mess of this film and I cannot think of one memorable part of the film that would encourage me to recommend it to others.