A Million Weddings & a DJ: Wedding Season, Netflix
This year has had quite the matchmaking book buzz — with reads like Dating Dr. Dill, Weather Girl, The Bride Test, and Mr. Perfect on Paper. And it’s spilling over into movies.
Wedding Season is fun and flirty while remaining relatable and romantic. The matchmaking troupe is delightfully trendy while not becoming overdone or outdated. A businesswoman raising micro-loans for women in Southwest Asian women secretly dating her fake DJ boyfriend who got rich from a Facebook party in the early 2000s. Our main characters hold onto their heritage and family traditions despite their modern lives and it’s really beautiful to see (even when Asha’s mom caused a bunch of second-hand anxiety). Their connection starts when Asha’s mother makes a dating profile for her online, insisting she go on a date with Ravi and a wall of wedding invitations (most from distant people they met along their immigration to the US) in order to convince her to take it down.
There is never a doubt of Asha and Ravi's connection, as soon as they argue about verbal diarrhea over hamburgers he’s hooked. His eyes are drawn to her immediately, not just for her looks but her confidence and wit. He’s in love. So when she offers for them to fake-date to avoid the Desi Aunties’ constant meddling post-breakup with “the brown New Jersey Bachelor,” he agrees.
It takes a while for Asha to actually open up. Ravi is a scapegoat for getting more work done on her Singapore micro-loan pitch, literally bringing her computer to weddings (Was I the only one who found this super weird?!) But after they go to a desi Muslim-Hindu wedding and she tears up and decides to dance and have fun with Ravi. Turns out he’s a semi-famous DJ and the perfect mix of Desi heritage and modern sexy flair. And thus starts a secret romance between the two fake lovers.
The relationship between Asha and Ravis probably the most healthy Netflix romance I’ve seen in a while. Though they each have their own familial struggles, they’re confident in who they are and secure in their own emotions. When they make out in Ravi’s apartment and Asha falls asleep while he’s talking, she apologizes and assures him of her feelings. They don’t sneak around while secret-dating but instead keep their feelings private and real. They don’t let the feelings of their parents impact their emotions. They move at a pace that feels genuine, having fun at weddings, playing scrabble, eating pizza, making out, and just having fun together. And when Asha gets a big promotion in London, Ravi is proud of her (though, yes, with his job it doesn’t really affect much).
In my opinion, I think their family-confrontation argument was overblown. I don’t think dropping out of MIT was a big deal. It made me more upset that her sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law had known before her. Her family doesn’t like that he’s a DJ because they feel he can’t “support her,” but Asha can do fine on her own. She’s more upset about his dishonesty since she thought they came clean and started dating for real. He also admits to being the extra donation from her work’s business deal, essentially paying for her promotion, finding it patronizing. I think her hurt mostly stems from the fact that she and her ex-fiance broke up because he didn’t believe in her. It feels like relating old toxic patterns. But Ravi’s affections and sheer awe at her business-savvy nature never wavered. He thinks her accomplishments and mind are downright hot. There’s some more drama (of course! It’s a romcom nonetheless!) but Ravi uses their last wedding together to make a grand gesture and announce his not-so-fake love to everyone.
“Asha, you’re going to change the world someday. That beautiful mind. Your big heart. I just hope there’s room for me in it.” Could we possibly swoon more? (nope)
So Ravi and Asha live happily ever after, traveling, DJing music for crowds from all over, helping women get loans and change the future of their families forever, watching movies, and still dancing at weddings, in love.
4 stars
This movie was adorable. We love a matchmaking story that’s not too stuck in tropes, but there were a few plot points that unnatural, struggling for some kind of logical situation to bring the main characters together. A bit cheesy. I really liked the movie, but it’s not an automatic favorite. Harsh, I know.
