The Namesake's trailer advertises the poignant journey of a young man, Gogol Ganguli (Kal Penn), who struggles to define his identity in terms of American reality and his family's Indian roots.
Unfortunately, the movie delivers something entirely different. The painfully slow-moving story follows a newlywed couple who moves to America from India after an arranged marriage, their struggle to maintain their traditions while raising Gogol and his sister and then their adjustment to their children's adult lives and the loss of a family member. Though the film's length only hedges two hours, the audience may feel that they too have aged the 25 years Gogol's parents have.
Penn, who is taking on heftier roles than Kumar with this one and his recent turn on 24, tries a bit too hard to be serious-making his character a little too closed for audiences to connect too. Although Penn is the star, the cute Indian-American-son-brings-home-white-daughter-and-comical-cultural-mishaps-pursue scenes are an insignificant part of the larger family framework. The real center of the story is his mother, played by actress Tabu, who beautifully portrays one woman's growth and maturation over a lifetime.
Coming from director Mira Nair, The Namesake, which is based on Jhumpa Lahiri's novel of the same name, is a disappointment compared to her critically acclaimed Monsoon Wedding (2001). Where Monsoon feels genuine and purposeful, The Namesake tries too hard to strike a chord, just missing the heartstrings.
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