Touch Of Pink
US Theatrical Release: July 16, 2004 (Columbia - TriStar)
US DVD Release: January 11, 2005
Running Time: 1:30:08 (28 chapter stops)
Rating: R (Sexual Content And Brief Language)
Video: 1.85:1 Anamorphic (Extra Features: 1.33:1)
Audio: English DD5.1 (Extra features: English DD2.0)
Subtitles: English, Japanese, Japanese Commentary Track, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai (Extra Features: Japanese)
TV-Generated Closed Captions: English (Extra Features: None)
Menus: Not animated.
Packaging: Standard keepcase; single-sheet insert contains a poster image for this film on one side and cover images from other titles on the other side.
MSRP: $24.96
THE WAY I FEEL ABOUT IT: 3/5
Hello, darling! Cary Grant here. I’d like to introduce my latest motion picture,
Touch Of Pink. “But you’re deceased,” you say? Well, it’s nothing like that ghastly beyond-the-grave appearance old Larry put in on that
Sky Captain project. No sir; I’m being channeled by that lantern-jawed young gentleman, Mr. Kyle Maclachlan. And he does a fine job of it, too – even if I’m not all that important to this story.
I am the imaginary friend – although I prefer to think of myself as a guardian angel – of Alim (Jimi Mistry), a young man from a Muslim Indian family who’s living in London with his white lover Giles (Kristen Holden-Reid). I help guide Alim in life, since he lost his father when he was very young. The rest of his family lives in Toronto, which makes it quite easy for him to hide his homosexuality from them.
However, the impending marriage of Alim’s cousin inspires his mother (Suleka Mathew) to pay him a visit. Perhaps she can convince him to find a nice girl and settle down. Boy, is she in for a surprise! You can imagine what happens when this traditional, overbearing ethnic mother injects herself into her son’s hastily re-closeted life. Not that I’d know about overbearing ethnic mothers; on the other hand, my young colleague Mr. Silverman is intimately acquainted with the type.
A perfectly charming ensemble of supporting players surrounds Alim and his mother. The energetic and colorful cast adds a cheerful warmth to the story. Alim’s mother, especially, will elicit a variety of emotions from the audience with her alternately abrasive and maternal personality. Not all of the characters may be likeable (watch out for a subplot involving Alim’s cousin that is rather more creepy than it had to be), but one certainly can’t complain about the actors who portray them.
You should have yourself a few good laughs with
Touch Of Pink. You may even be touched by the progression of the relationship between Alim and his mother. Nothing earth-shattering here, though. Just a decent afternoon’s entertainment. And with that, let me say that I sincerely hope that you’ve found my review of the film to be sufficiently informative.
THE WAY I SEE IT: 2/5
The film’s low budget is reflected in the extremely grainy image. There are very minor compression artifacts and film damage, but they are basically invisible behind the grain. The picture is rather soft, but the detail is inherently limited by the amount of grain, so I can’t really blame the transfer for that. Edge enhancement is generally noticeable. Colors are a bit oversaturated, which really brings out the actors’ makeup, especially Kyle Maclachlan’s. It gives the picture a slightly unnatural, stagey look.
THE WAY I HEAR IT: 4/5
While the film is pretty much dialogue-driven, the surrounds and LFE are used to good effect for scenic ambiance and music. Unlike the video, the audio mix is on par with much larger-budget productions. The music sounds especially nice.
THE SWAG: 2.5/5 (rating combines quality and quantity)
Commentary Track:
Director Ian Iqbal Rashid and stars Jimi Mistry and Kyle Maclachlan chat about the production. There’s a mix of “oh, she’s a great Canadian stage actress”-type piffle and interesting nuggets of information. There’s very little downtime, and the participants show some energy without talking over each other, so it’s worth a listen for fans of the film. It’s not the deepest track, but it’s moderately entertaining.
The Making Of A Touch Of Pink: (8:28)
This is a pretty standard promo piece. The director and cast seem enthusiastic, as usual.
Previews:
Six trailers are included. Note that the trailers for
Touch Of Pink,
Warriors Of Heaven And Earth,
Little Black Book and
White Chicks are anamorphic. The trailers for
Little Black Book and
White Chicks have DD5.1 audio.
- Touch Of Pink (2:02)
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (1:23)
- Warriors Of Heaven And Earth (1:55)
- Little Black Book (2:33)
- White Chicks (2:32)
- Stella Street (2:01)
SUMMING IT ALL UP
The Way I Feel About It: 3/5
The Way I See It: 2/5
The Way I Hear It: 4/5
The Swag: 2.5/5
First, I’d like to thank Mr. Grant for guest-writing the film review portion of this writeup. It was unnecessary, but hopefully good for a chuckle or two (just like his character in this movie).
Touch Of Pink will remind some of Ang Lee’s classic
The Wedding Banquet, but despite the thematic similarities, it is its own film. It’s focused more on the relationship between Alim and his mother, without as many plot convolutions.
Touch Of Pink is a decent, though unspectacular, family comedy delivered by an unimpressive transfer and a solid soundtrack with a modest selection of extra features. You could do worse, but you could also do better.
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