Film Review: Don't waste your money twice on 'Happy Ending'

Film: Happy Ending
Director: Raj-DK
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Ileana D'Cruz, Govinda, Kalki Koechlin, Ranvir Shorey, Preity Zinta
Rating: ***

What's it about:

"Young-at-heart" Yudi (Khan) spends the first 10 minutes of the film explaining his fundas on love, getting laid, being laid-back and being a break-up artist. When we first meet him, we imagine the years (he says five-and-a half, they say six) haven't been kind and neither have his excesses. He's spent all the money he made from his last novel, he has an overly attached stalker 'girlfriend' Vishakha (Koechlin) he can't get rid of, a henpecked husband Montu (Shorey) for a BFF, a former flame Divya (Zinta) for a sounding board and a paunchy (imaginary) alter-ego/ split personality called Yogi for a voice of reason.  

That aside, women of all ethnicities seem to be charmed enough to eventually profess love, only to elicit blank stares, oh-shits, eye-rolls and shrugs from him. That, in some universe, apparently means he's breaking up with them. What's worse, he's close to broke, his agent uses him as a bad example and he's 'replaced' by a young romance novelist Aanchal (D'Cruz). He's coerced into writing a "kickass" story for and getting free life advice from Superstar Armaan Ji (Govinda).

He courts Aanchal and by and by, finds her to be the female him. Of course, you know how they'll fight, then get along famously, then make out sans any strings, play strip poker and then play who-blinks-first, 'cause you know, spoiler alert, eventually that's bound to happen.

What's hot: 

If watching Saif play a patchwork rerun of all his past roles doesn't excite you, you might want to take a look at the reinvention of Govinda. The man looks far younger than Saif, his junior by half a decade. And just like his character Armaan Ji, his attempt at a "multiplex film" seems to work, at least for him. He's clearly confident and will draw the most whistles for his crisply written one-liners and common-sense advice. He's lively and effortlessly funny, clearly something Saif's character is not. What you do tend to love about Khan, though, is Yogi. Grins and guffaws are never in short supply when Saif's playing him. Ileana looks like a million bucks, but save for a few scenes in the second half, rarely gets a chance to shine. Preity, on the other hand, looks tired but perfectly cast as mother-of-triplets Divya. The road trip and the hotel room scene are not to be missed. The music is pleasant and not intrusive at all. And you have to love the camera work!

What's not: 

The Kareena cameo seems forced. So does Vishakha's revelation. Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru spend too much time establishing in the first 30 minutes why Yudi shouldn't be anyone's Prince Charming, poking fun at Bollywood's "romedy" tropes (some come from Saif's own filmography), eventually succumbing to them and then wrapping things up in something of a hurry. Several questions are left unanswered - what was Yudi's book Operation Payback about, how does one survive five-odd years on book royalty these days without writing a new one, why did Divya and Yudi break up but still stay friends, etc?  

What to do: 

As Armaan Ji says, "300 rupaiye mein logon ko zindagi mat sikha!" Now, if that's not a master class on making big money in Bollywood, I don't know what is. If only Raj-DK had kept it as short,simple and precise, this would be recommended as a two-time watch. In its current avatar, one should be more than enough.