Housefull (2010) User Reviews

Howlarious somewhere, slapstick elsewhere

[kunalkhandwala · 7/10 · 6 May 2010]

From the days of 'Ikke Pe Ikka' to 'Heyy Baby', Sajid Khan has portrayed himself and his ideas as nothing but slapstick. Drawing enormous criticism for the stupidity that was 'Heyy Baby', he seems to have come to his best.... which doesn't put him on any sort of pedestal but certainly gives you fair returns for your ticket price. While paying tribute to film makers of yesteryears, Sajid Khan introduces us to his latest concoction of slapstick silly comedy - 'Housefull'.

Arush (Akshay Kumar) is such a loser..... smitten with bad luck, his remorse takes him to his childhood buddy, Bob (Ritesh Deshmukh) in London. The attempted comedy in this part, with Hetal (Lara Dutta) falling out of the window, the super powered Vaccuum cleaner and Prada leave you worried about the rest of the film. In the hope of eliminating his bad luck spree, Arush gets married to Devika (Jiah Khan), the daughter of millionaire Casino baron Samtani (Randhir Kapoor) but all is not well after they arrive in an Italian holiday resort. Chunky Pandey at this point provides some refreshing comedy, far better than any he has attempted. Arush meets Sandy (Deepika Padukone), they meet Bob & Hetal, they all meet Hetal's Pappa (Boman Irani) and they in turn meet Sandy's Anna Krishna Rao (Arjun Rampal) and in the end, they all meet the Queen of England.

The bits with Chunky Pandey and Boman Irani are indeed funny but out of the lead actors, Ritesh Deshmukh gets much of the fun dialogues and scenes whereas Akshay Kumar has to cope with being the loser who is put in impossible circumstances. Deepika was anyways only good at smiling so she gets to do that a lot here, Lara Dutta has given her best especially with the Gujrati dialogues while Jiah Khan remained skimpy at best. Chunky Pandey was very passable, given some funny dialogues and situations whereas Boman Irani rose to yet another challenge of being a part of this madness and yet standing out with such a convincingly funny character. Not only does he display his versatility but he rises above all with his spontaneity and hilarious expressions. Watch out for his remarkable thumkas while sleep-walking during a song.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy may seem over-qualified for this film but their rocking remake of 'Apni toh Jaise Taise' (It's Jhakaas!) and 'O Girl you're mine' with some hilarious lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya in 'He's such a loser' and 'Papa jag jaayega' make this a fun soundtrack.

Sajid Khan has by no means done anything revolutionary here. Pretty sure he didn't intend to either. 'Housefull' falls in the category of 'Welcome', 'Dhamaal', 'Partner' etc and not among the all time greats. Thus, you get a silly but crazy entertainer which thankfully in many parts is howlarious with some really funny one-liners. But then you also have inane slapstick with a vaccuum cleaner, tiger, monkey and laughing gas to no effect. These days, such scenes are just embarrassing to watch.....

Yes, be sure to leave your brain at home as they say and only then will you be able to enjoy this movie to an extent. After a dry spell that consisted only of live IPL matches in theaters, this is a comedy we need before some serious stuff that is lined up for the next 2 months. Don't spend more than Rs. 150 and you will agree that it was at least 'Paisa vasool'.

• 6.99 on a scale of 1-10.

Completely illogical but somewhat entertaining

[shamirgupta · 6/10 · 3 May 2010]

Houseful, another movie in a long list of Bollywood movies with stories "inspired" by a Hollywood movie.

However Houseful is unique as it has not been adapted from one but several Hollywood movies at one time. It has shades of William H Macy's The Cooler, Ben Stiller's starrer Along came Polly, Owen Wilson's You, Me and Dupree and Meet the Parents.

Being heavily adapted from so many sources makes the movie's storyline completely illogical and one would probably have to check his brain out when entering the theater to enjoy such a film.

Another thing that disappointed me was the background score. It did not support the film and felt very minimal and weak. Given the number of hit songs in the movie the background score was a complete letdown.

However, despite having the above mentioned flaws the movie still works. It has many moments which are very hilarious and which makes this movie a complete masala entertainer.

To conclude this movie may not be an intellectual masterpiece but the movie is still entertaining and is a complete paisa wassol

Zero expectation, Zero brain and you will enjoy it

[Lover-UD · 5/10 · 4 May 2010]

Housefull is a movie to watch out with your friends who don't carry their intellect always with them, at least not at places where its not required. You are finished if you are going a Sazid Khan's comedy movie with some brain. Don't put your logic, because it hurts when it fails, and it hurts more when it fails at every second scene. So Housefull is a flick to watch out for full fun and big laughter but with above mentioned condition : No Brain please :). Some sequences of the movie are killing and make you roll on your seat with laughter. It's a new kind of weirdo bollywood comedy on the ancient plot of lies and misunderstanding created out of it. Thanks Sazid for not reusing the formula of infinite chaos. Akshay Kumar's acting is Bindaas and his over innocent expressions bring numerous smiles at times. At places Sazid is 10/10 in creating situations and comedy out of it even if it is not taking story anywhere. Music is average apart from 1 track "Mar Javaan". Overall its a watch to pull out your stress. Just go, watch, laugh and enjoy it.

This was a very average movie. One in which I expected a lot more

[anujsahni · 4/10 · 2 May 2010]

After having watched all the video blogs and so forth on Bollywood Hungama, I was really looking forward to this one. But what a major disappointment. I don't think they were able to carry a common thread of a plot throughout the movie and only parts of it were funny. And those funny parts were so reminiscent of this other Bollywood film. What was the name.... it had Anil Kapoor, Fardeen Khan, and Salman Khan.

I was also SHOCKED to see a 4-star rating on Bollywood Hungama. Definitely won't put any faith in to Taran Adarsh's reviews from here on out. Just because the movie heavily advertised and promoted via the site, they inflated the ratings. Complete BS. That made it all the more disappointing to watch.

Funny In Parts But Still, 'Housefull' is Full of Crap

[Chrysanthepop · 10 November 2010]

Given that this movie is made by one of the worst directors (Sajid Khan), I wasn't expecting much. It did make me laugh in parts (mainly because of Akshay Kumar's comic flair) but 'Housefull' is pretty much full of crap. A jinxed Aarav, or whatever his name is (Akshay Kumar), tries to find happiness but everywhere he goes, things fall apart. He finally lands on the bed of Bob (Ritesh Deshmukh)and Bobba (Lara Dutta). They arrange for him to get married to their boss's daughter Jiah (Jiah Khan). However, on their wedding night, Jiah cheats on Aarav. A heartbroken Aarav attempts suicide in the Mediterranean but he is rescued by an airhead (Peepika Padukone). What follows is more garbage as the plot changes from one thing to another. This is hardly any different from the usual trash Bollywood has been churning lately, in the name of comedy. A lot of money has been wasted on it as 'Housefull' has been expensively shot in Italy and England. The sets are lavish and grand. The soundtrack is dreadful. Of the performances, Akshay Kumar manages to be funny again but his choice of awful movies is becoming routine. Arjun Rampal is the other actor who delivers a solid performance. Of course, it needs to be mentioned that 'Housefull' rips off several Hollywood films which I won't even bother listing.

A Nutshell Review: House Full

[DICK STEEL · 6/10 · 1 May 2010]

Akshay Kumar didn't really have a good 2009 despite having some major projects lined up, with the box office response not living up to expectations. To some, that spells a loser, and the film takes an exaggerated response in having him play the unluckiest man on Earth, Arush, and he's so unlucky that Macau casinos employ him to walk their grounds to ensure winning streaks turn into losing ones. And House Full turns out to be one half of a familiar spin from contemporary Hollywood comedies before becoming its own film after the interval.

The first half spends considerable time developing the character of Arush, whom we see leaving his job to go back to stay with his best buddy Bob (Ritesh Deskmukh) and his wife Heetal (Lara Dutta), two casino employees in London. This segment turns out to be You, Me and Dupree as his unwelcome gatecrash turns the life of the couple upside down with his bad luck rubbing off into their home. Sometimes you can feel that the comedy here is just trying way too hard that it borders on the ridiculous and was flogging the dead unfunny horse, especially with the aftermath of Arush and Bob getting electrocuted.

Then it becomes a mix of a loose Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Heartbreak Kid, with Bob and Heetal matchmaking him with their boss's daughter Devika (Jiah Khan), and it seemed like the perfect match of the Traditional Indian Boy and Girl, only for a surprise to emerge when frolicking in an Italian resort for their honeymoon, and Arush meeting up with his One True Love with Sandy, played by the lovely Deepika Padukone. Comedy here came from Chunky Pandey who plays the hotel owner Akhri Pasta with a penchant of lying and construing them as jokes, and his over the top demeanour actually was remotely funny, even though you'd learn to take everything he says eventually with a pinch of salt, with one key lie being the cause for a running gag for Arush being hurried away from the scene by Bob and Heetal each time Devika enters it.

The story is about pretences, and how in the name of saving one's face and reputation, lies lead to bigger lies, stemming from wanting to impress family members. For Heetal, she has consistently told that she's married to a rich boy and living it up in a big mansion, doing so to impress her dad (Boman Irani) who has frowned upon her decision to stay in London with Bob. For Sandy, her lie involves something similar to her brother Major Krishna Rao (a stoic faced Arjun Rampal) whom she thinks will frown upon her relationship with the loser Arush, and hence both couples have set the tone for the second half after the interval, playing on the theme and rationale of being perfectly OK to lie if it's done for a noble cause, the definition of noble being quite narrow and for personal benefit.

But here's where the entire film lifts off into the comedic stratosphere, as the people they lie to begin to turn up, and lies leading to bigger ones, with the best parts being the case of mistaken identities which the couples have to continue playing it up, and by the midway mark of their gag, there's a convoluted web of relationships that one group has to play off the other in order to keep the truth from exploding. Somehow it also turned primarily into a guy's film, with the female leads in Dutta and Padukone being largely supporting roles, and the male leads getting into plenty of shenanigans filled with homophobic suspicions. With the arrival of Krishna though there's a tinge of Meet the Parents with Arjun Rampal taking on Robert De Niro's role as the military intelligence interrogator casting that wary eye (hand singals adopted as well) on Arush, whose propensity of being the worst jinx in the house getting conveniently forgotten.

If you're game for a madcap time where comedy stem from identities being swapped and the reliance of wits to get out of sticky situations, then this film is for you although you have to endure a lacklustre first half before the narrative picks up. It's almost like Akshay Kumar's De Dana Dan from last year with that spiderweb of fake relationship ties that will keep you engaged, with finely crafted musical sequences. We know AK can dance, and for all the flak Deepika Padukone got for being stiff, I thought she's slowly gaining her groove as seen by the numerous numbers here. My favourite song here will have to be Loser, but this film, thanks to its second half, had prevented it from tanking like one.

Could qualify for a horror film

[sashank_kini-1 · 1/10 · 8 May 2010]

Hindi movies have become messiahs of brainless, slapstick yet enjoyable humor. These movies are devoid of intellect, refined stuff and compromise it for jokes on gays, stereotypes and women. Some succeed,some fail, while a very few of them like Housefull turn out so diabolic that they find it impossible to redeem themselves throughout. This movie had one gag that was actually funny (not hilarious) in the second half that barely made me smile.

However, slapstick movies aren't there to make people smile; they should make you roll with laughter. Housefull is a plethora of clichés and contrived humor. There are times when I felt that the director, the script and the actors were at their wit's end and just completed the movie for the sake of raking in the moolah with big names. All in vain since the movie itself is like a couple of trailers played one after another without having any coherency. The movie is so desperate that it named its title as Housefull with tag lines like "Catch it now or it'll be booked" or something like that. During one of the supposedly sad scenes, I and my father were sneering and passing comments like "Sajid should be prosecuted along with Kasab" etc.

Sajid Khan has directed Heyy Baby prior to this film which had some coherency and heart and managed to stay aboard. It is almost shocking to see what he has made here. An immature, first-time director would make a better film than this. There is no heart in this film. The director himself lacked interest while filming the movie. This shows the mark of a failed director. His movie is unlike some other bad ones which could be salvaged because the director's love for direction is visible. Nothing is seen over here. No passion for direction. Sajid doesn't try to utilize the maximum potential of the actors and instead allows them to manipulate the characters their way which is disastrous.

In one of the scenes, when Riteish Deshmukh tries to seduce Lara Datta in bed but instead finds Akshay Kumar, he overacts so much to the point of nausea but Sajid must've felt "He has given hits like Masti etc. Why stop him? His acting could make this film worthwhile" rather than telling him "You're overdoing it. Settle down a bit, think about what you are doing and then do the same thing in a manner that would please the audience". It's good that the President or Prime Minister hasn't seen this film otherwise Sajid would be behind bars by now!

Let's talk about the acting now. Since I have decided to give this movie an elaborated review, I am going to tear apart all the actors one by one and no one will be spared.

Akshay Kumar: And the worst performance of the year goes too…. him. He has played this lovable (not so lovable rather) loser innumerable times with the same expression and same mannerisms etc. He has some good roles to his credit but off late his roles have become one-dimensional and completely flat. The washing machine scene was so overtly exaggerated and ripped off from Mr. Bean into a disgusting one and the electrocution sequence was even worse and the dance sequence after that with the foreigners was cringe worthy.

Riteish Deshmukh: He actually has a good comic-timing but over here, he stinks. He plays the loyal and trustworthy friend of Akshay who readily keeps him in his house. In the first part there is too much of him and in the second part, his role is minimized to a gay pretense. It's so sad that in most of the performances, he generates laughter by imitating homosexuals. And it's the same over here. The portrayal of homosexuals is stereotyped into roles that require characters to completely act like females and spurt dialogs like "I'm ready for it!"

Lara Dutta: This is the second time that I have seen her in a movie. She seems to be a contender for the worst actress of the year (Deepika should win it). In a character that shifts from a emotional daughter to a bikini-clad, shameless woman, she ain't Meryl Streep to shift her character so seamlessly. In one of the scenes, she breaks down on the phone, and in the next, she wishes her father to leave. He in short has no character at all.

Deepika Padukone: She on the other hand does the same thing that she does in every other movie: look stunning, act trash. I have never been mesmerized or even attracted by her performance and here too she shows what an incapable actress she is. She doesn't even try. Her talking style is the same,she is devoid of funny bone and she is simply present to show off her gorgeous body. I find her to be very beautiful but her acting is lame.

Boman Irani: He is a credible actor who does try to sound like a Gujarati but due to a lame script is reduced to Kanthaben by the second half of the film but didn't make me laugh like the way Kanthaben did in Kal-Ho-Na-Ho.

Arjun Rampal: He was just too serious to be funny. The lifeboy soap gag was pathetic. In the Buckingham scene, he hammed.

Jiah Khan: Where was she? Was she even required?

Chunkey Pandey: "I was just joking!!" The same thing can be said about his career. A joke!

The lazy script doesn't help either. Some of the sequences were so bad like the monkey-slapping scene; I had to close my eyes.

I summarize it by saying one thing "The apocalypse of film industry is looming close"

Funny, not hilarious!

[namashi_1 · 6/10 · 30 April 2010]

Sajid Khan made a impressive debut in the 2007 Super-Hit 'Heyy Babyy', I enjoyed that film. So my reason to watch his latest outing 'Housefull' was because of his name. The film also packed in superb pre-release promotion. So here's my review on the film:

'Housefull' is a funny film, not hilarious. The first hour is very slow, The second hour is excellent, but the climax is simply stupid. Sajid pays his-personal tribute to 5 Legendary Filmmakers, but it isn't half as as entertaining as their films use to be. One truly expected much more from Sajid!

Coming to the right points directly: Sajid's sense of humor is widely regarded. First hour is dull, but Chunkey's portions are fair. The real fun starts in the second hour. The portions between Boman-Arjun and rest of the cast are simply hilarious. Especially, the Gay Track, it's hilarious! Music is superb, so is the choreography. Though none-of-the-actors could carry off Mithunda's legendary step! Moving on to the acting, Akshay is good, but it's Deshmukh who steals the show. He's incredible! Arjun Rampal suits the part well, and does well. Chunkey Pandery as Aakhri Pasta, is exceptional. He's outstanding! Boman Irani is, as always, lovable. Randhir Kapoor hams happily, while Suresh Menon is terrific in a cameo. Among the chicks, Jiah looks heavenly and does a good job. Deepika does a fine job, while Lara doesn't work.

The minuses cannot be forgotten: The first hour is dull. The first 40-minutes, especially, are bland. The climax is also very unfunny. I just didn't laugh, though the actors were howling!

On the whole, 'Housefull' is a film that will be loved by those who never get tried of Akshay Kumar's film, otherwise, it will meet with diverse reactions. My verdict: Above-Average!

See if you can neatly side-step this mess...

[ilpintl · 1/10 · 3 May 2010]

Why do I never learn? Why do I keep going to Akshay Kumar films, when they disappoint so consistently?

My latest Akshay Kumar mistake is an unfunny comic caper named "Housefull". After the debacles that were "Blue", "Kambakht Ishq", "Chandni Chowk to China", now comes this new atrocity from Sajid Khan, who earlier had made the rotten-only-in-patches film "Heyy Babyy" (what's with the atrocious spelling?), a genial Indian take on "Three Men and a Baby". Somehow I evaded "Singh is Kingg" (there we go with the spelling again). Even I could tell that Akshay plus the blandly beautiful and seriously wooden Katrina Kaif would be an industrial-strength double whammy to be avoided at any cost.

I have a soft spot for Sajid Khan, because his sister Farah Khan makes the most awesome Hindi entertainers ("Main Hoon Na" and "Om Shanti Om") and is possibly one of the smartest, funniest, wackiest people in India. In short, I adore Farah Khan, and feel I must support any cinematic endeavor by her or her many family members. Her husband Sirish Kunder, a topnotch editor, made the passable "Jaan-E-Man" with Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, and Preity Zinta, and Akshay was actually kind of endearing in it. Her cousins Zoya and Farhan Akhtar have made some excellent films: the flawless "Luck By Chance" and the clever and charming "Dil Chahta Hai"; as an actor, Farhan hit the bullseye in "Luck By Chance", "Rock On!!", and the psychological thriller "Kartik calling Kartik".

So, I'm not a total loser for going to watch Akshay Kumar movies. It's just that he appears to have absolutely no instinct for choosing good films, and sometimes, inspite of this, he ends up in a competent masala Hindi entertainer ("Dil To Pagal Hai", "Aitraaz" was a guilty pleasure...tacky, but Priyanka Chopra was fascinating. Akshay was very good in "Dhadkan", co-starring Shilpa Shetty after her first nose job and Suneil Shetty.), but mostly he works in simply dreadful movies. At the wrap of each awful flick, he probably drawls, "I'll have my check now, thank you very much!" and toddles off to the next excruciatingly bad film, gummy grin and all.

Arjun Rampal, Riteish Desmukh, and the ever reliable Boman Irani (playing a Gujarati businessman, this time) are the other men in this movie with a frat boy sensibility. And for the frat boys, we must have bodacious babes, so the polished and professional Deepika Padukone, the usually smart and sensuous Lara Dutta, and the sexy, but frankly terrible Jiah Khan, a fully clothed Malaika Arora (hello!), and Lilette Dubey are roped in to do the needful. Except Arjun plays Malaika and Deepika's brother...he must be still wondering how that bit of injustice came about.

To be fair, there is about 10 minutes of delightful nonsense, when practically the entire cast lands up under various pretexts at a house to make it the titular "Housefull" and I did laugh out aloud once, but that meant sitting through 1.5 hours to arrive at the funny bit, and then another 45 or so minutes when things went back to being unamusing.

Randhir Kapoor, looking porcine and hollering all the time, makes one of his periodic comebacks, playing Jiah Khan's father. These days he is more famous for being Karisma and Kareena Kapoor's father. Randhir Kapoor, you will remember, had quite the busy career in the 70s and 80s. Even as a romantic leading man, he was fat, cheerful, laid-back, wickedly funny in print, and on screen, as well. He had the Kapoor weakness for plenty of fine food and drink, never ever worked out, and was best buds with Rekha. Together they gave many politically incorrect, hilarious interviews in various film periodicals, poking fun at career-minded, goody-goody colleagues like Hema Malini and anyone who made the mistake of crossing them. They worked together non-stop in a few A, but mostly B-grade potboilers, and were like truant school kids having the time of their lives.

Then Amitabh Bachchan happened to Rekha: she shed many kilos (including Randhir Kapoor), her screeching laughter and her irresponsible teenager ways, learnt Urdu, how to conduct herself like a lady, and took to giving those ambiguous, mystical New Age interviews which were all about the mysterious "He", "Him", "the One" in her life. I wish she would return to being the hugely fun person she was, and do a riotous comedy. Her "Khoobsurat" days are over, but surely someone can do an "Auntie Mame" or "Travels with my Aunt" with her, and she would be an absolute hoot in it.

Randhir Kapoor could only have had a career during that period of Hindi cinema. In these times of buff bodies, six-pack abs, and bulging biceps, he would never have landed a gig. It's a shame, too, because now it appears to be all about the toned body and not quite as much as the performance or personality.

Arjun Rampal is an anachronism: he has the looks, body, dignity, plenty of screen presence and talent of a matinée idol of old. He did very well in this idiotic movie, giving much more than it deserved.

I don't know if these observations have anything at all to do with "Housefull", but I felt like letting off some steam after being gypped yet again by an Akshay Kumar movie.

Housefull

[ayonbhunia · 7/10 · 9 October 2021]

It's a great comedy movie ! And Akshay kumar was in top of everything ! And Lara dutta too! But lame story like tales with no logic and no motive ! But I can assure you will enjoy it ! Also one thing idk but why bollywood always have to give space to foreigners in their frame i mean they can shoot with indian people too ! I saw these things in exactly every movie made in back 9 or 10 years ! Whatever tho ! This movie is nice and you will enjoy it !

Probably the worst comedy I've seen till date. Sajid Khan should not make movies and stick to stand-up.

[jaspalsinghis · 1/10 · 30 April 2010]

I just saw this movie and I think I need to write about it. I missed his debut "Hey Baby" but heard from friends it was good and the new one "Housefull" seems promising. Well, they were wrong. This film is as bad as it can get. The story revolves around Akshay Kumar who has the worst luck and brings bad luck to others. Finding and marrying his true love should supposedly cure it. However this thing loses focus pretty early as many other characters keep coming with their own stories and agendas. Story takes a new turn every few minutes and you kinda forget what happened before or why is what's happening, happening. Bad slapstick throughout (very hard to laugh, you actually think 'was i supposed to laugh on this?'), super bad over acting, bad or no story line, no character development, no justification for whatever's happening and of course bad direction. I can go on and on, but let me summarize with this - If a Hollywood comedies fan (ben stiller, Adam Sander kinds), with no movie making experience, makes such a movie because he can afford it. Well that's what "Housefull" is more or less like.

Funny After A While

[pjbhaumik · 8/10 · 1 June 2015]

Housefull started out funny and grew funnier. The movie was a little long, yet the last one hour was incredibly funny. There were a few good settings as well including an Italian beach resort and an English manor. Akshay Kumar delivered a stiff, unlucky bachelor, and Deepika Padukone made a great star-struck romantic. Chemistry amongst these and the supporting cast played out well with all the physical comedy and dramatic irony. Characters quickly grew related in all sorts of twisted accidents of romance and friendship. Charades and one's love interests tested the boundaries of loyalty to family and honesty. Fresh comedy and a few cheesy dance numbers kept the plot rolling through a hilarious climax.

House of Thieves

[punit_manik · 1/10 · 4 June 2010]

Why am I disappointed? The film is made by the same person who had a television series in which he made fun of people like Mahesh Bhatt and Anu Malik for stealing there ideas and music from American movies and musicians.

The same person (Sajid Khan) copied his first movie "Heyy Babyy" from "3 Men and a Baby" and now his new movie "House full" is a complete rip-off of "Meet the Parents" and "The Heartbreak Kid" both coincidentally star Ben Stiller in the lead.

This proves that he (Sajid Khan) is the biggest hypocrite in the entire Indian film industry, he was not even able to copy the movie properly, I don't know how much they are paying the critics to give it a positive rating.

Don't even watch this movie if you are paid by Sajid Khan and Sajid Nadiadwala, don't watch it for free, don't watch it or you will regret it.

Really Awful! Don't Watch!!

[sanp811 · 1/10 · 1 May 2010]

Regretted watching this movie totally. Sajid Khan dedicates this movie to some of the "entertainment" directors of yore. But his crappy sense of humor would not make them have their names associated with this film. Tries too hard and bends too low to induce laughter into nonsensical scenes. Writes a joke for a plot.

Akshay Kumar is supposed to be the guy with the worst luck but sitting in the theater one would have the feeling that it is he/she who has the worst luck. Well, there's not much to talk about the ladies here. They shout, wear super-tiny clothes, dance and look good.

To sum it all, some under-the-belt jokes and over the top acting by ultra-glamorous non-actors. Saving grace=None. Worth a skip!!

Horrible movie

[jigar_183 · 1/10 · 2 May 2010]

After a long painful drought (thanks to the exam season and IPL matches) of plain boring to irritating films arrives Sajid Khan's Housefull. While in totality it does fall short of being the big great summer entertainer that it is been claiming to be, it however manages to bring many laughs for you. However, eventually it settles down in familiar territory.

Housefull narrates the tale of Aarush (Akshay), a perpetually unlucky bloke and a loser in life who moves into the house of his best buddy cum another loser, Bob (Ritesh) and his wife Hetal (Lara). But things continue to go wrong for Aarush. Convinced that true love can fade away his bad luck jinx, a desperate Aarush enters into many complicated situations while seeking it. Thus enter Sandy (Deepika) and Devika (Jiah) in his life. Things complicate further with the arrival of Sandy's angry brother Major Krishna Rao (Arjun Rampal) and Hetal's estranged dad Batuk Patel (Boman Irani). How Aarush and Bob in an attempt to hoodwink Krishna Rao and Batuk go on creating more confusion leading to a mirthful chaos forms the rest of the plot.

Much was expected from Sajid Khan who has been literally claiming from rooftops for weeks now that he has made the year's biggest blockbuster. Though he has not entirely let us down, you do wish he could have opted for a more innovative plot.

A Two Hour Laugh Riot.

[Sherazade · 5/10 · 1 May 2011]

Casting, script, songs and locations were just perfect. Too bad the editing wasn't. I loved how you could interchange any two couples within the main cast and there was still instant chemistry between them. A cast that included Arjun Rampal, Riteish Deshmukh, Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta and Jiah Khan. Supporting cast included Boman Irani (and his real life mum), Malaika Arora-Khan and Lilette Dubey. The film is two hours and change long and is funny and very entertaining until it reaches the two hour mark where it begins to lose its cool factor and fall apart. Anyhow, I loved and enjoyed it thoroughly had a laugh out loud fun time with my family and I totally would recommend it to anyone who would like to see a nice Bollywood flick without all the extra baggage. It was meant to be fun and that it was. Though all the songs were great, I really loved the 'He is a Loser' song. LOL.

Saying Mediocre will be like giving an Oscar

[Kornephoros · 1/10 · 1 May 2010]

The crux of my review is that it is not really worth watching, at least in the theatre. There is no plot and the director tries to make you laugh with every possible scene. There are points in the movie, where you will literally curse yourself for having bought the tickets. There is a scene where Bomman Irani asks Arjun Rampal " Were you bathing with the Boy?" and Arjun says "Yes". And he meant "Lifeboy". We must congratulate the makers of Lifeboy for having made inroads into the Elite British Homes !! Or maybe our protagonist, "The Major" believes in carrying his own brand of soap everywhere!! Also, at another point, the watch on the clock reads 5:00 and Arjun's(who is from India)reads 6:00. But I must admit that the Santa Banta scene takes the cake. There is not a single person on the screen who isn't laughing and there wasn't one in the theatre who was.There were also some genuinely good scenes in the movie, but very few and far between.

Housefull is a complete entertainer

[sumanbarthakursmailbox · 10/10 · 16 August 2010]

I love to watch movies which are entertaining.So,I enjoyed watching Housefull very much because it is a very good entertaining movie without hurting the intelligence of the viewer.This is an excellent movie in terms of Bollywood entertainment.I am sure that this movie will not get any awards and this movie will not get any 5 star rating from expert critics.Sajid Khan is not the best director in Bollywood.I feel that Sajid Khan- the director is superior to many Bollywood directors because he exactly knows what the audience wants. Housefull is full of comedy.Editing is very fast.The length and time duration of the movie is correct.Production values are very good. The hero of this movie is the screenplay.This movie is made from the audience's point of movie. So, ninety percent of the movie buffs are going to enjoy watching this movie.I remember that Manmohan Desai's movies were never appreciated but people used to watch three or four times. I can assure that after you finish watching Housefull from beginning to end, you will surely have a big smile on your face.You will also like to watch it two or three times because this is a complete repeat value movie. This is not overconfidence because I have this belief that this movie is purely made for the audience.And when I say audience then it does not mean only the masses or the front benchers or single screen audience. By audience, I mean people who love to watch movies for entertainment. I feel cinema is about entertainment.No movie can change anybody's life. No movie can cure cancer. No movie can bring changes in the society. Movies are made mainly for providing entertainment. About 200 to 300 movies get released every year from Bollywood but only 5 or 6 movies become box office successes and ninety nine percent of the movie become flops. And the main reason for these flops are that these are not entertaining movies. These movies actually irritate people and that is why they become flops.Those filmmakers are making movies for themselves and not for the audience.I hate movies which irritate and bore people. I love movies which entertain people.Housefull will entertain you completely because this movie is made for the audience.

Copied from many other movies

[nramanan · 1/10 · 11 June 2010]

From the movie preview/trailer, it appeared that the movie is copied from HANGOVER. But I was wrong. Almost all the scenes in this movie has been copied from many different movies e.g., Hangover, Night At The Museum, Meet the Parents. Looks like Sajid doesn't know how to make a movie. A director is not a director if he / she copies all the scenes from Hollywood hits and claims to be his own.

As far as the story goes, nothing to talk about. It's crap movie and moreover in some places it appears to be racial. As far as acting goes, nothing worth mentioning. Akshay Kumar and Ritesh are just repeating the same performance. In most of the scenes, Deepika and Laura Dutta clothes are highly inappropriate. Wonder sometimes if this what women in India wear. Not worth watching.

Kill them ALL!!!!

[parag1dubey · 1/10 · 4 May 2010]

What a horrendous piece of crap?!!! I sat there gaping at the screen in stunned silence as scene after supposedly funny scene played on it. At one point I considered just drowning myself in my glass of Coke, but then I thought, this isn't my fault!!! I should kill all those who associated with the film... perhaps that would calm my blood-lust. Enduring this sorry excuse for a comedy is like pulling your nails off with pincers... No, wait... that would be less painful than enduring this.. Crappy performances, stupid and plagiarized jokes from Meet the Parents and Night at the Museum ( amongst others) which a 3 year old would cringe at, insipid dialog and the stupidest directorial effort( non-effort, really) that i have seen since Christ walked the earth make this film one of the dumbest to date. Sajid Khan should stick to stand up routines ( preferably in hotels and dhabas) so that we don't have to endure his stupid arrogant face on T.V. To sum it up.. DON'T WATCH THIS SCHMUCK!! Watch some paint dry instead.. Vastly more entertaining... AND OH, SHAME ON YOU, AKSHAY KUMAR...

Absolutely Rubbish Movie

[guru2007 · 1/10 · 1 May 2010]

I went to watch this movie with out much prior knowledge of the director. I don't really watch Hindi movies a lot and this (movie) is one of the reason why I have stopped watching them. "Does the director really think the audience is that stupid?" was my reaction. I felt really insulted watching this movie. I laughed only once through out the movie. First part is absolutely pathetic. Second part is barely watchable. The movie is really painful to watch. If it wasn't for my wife I would have quit 20 minutes in to the movie. The director owes me $12 and 2 1/2 hours of my life. The only good thing about the movie is watching the actresses. I am forced to give it 1/10. Shame on the director and the rest of the crew for making such a worthless movie.

It is not even original...rip-off from a Tamil flick

[rashmitharao · 1/10 · 2 January 2011]

Yet another awful shot at comedy (and film-making as such), this fresh debacle of a film which ironically goes by the name of 'Housefull', mirrors Sajid Khan's popular trait- his condescending attitude - his level of expectation of the audience's IQ, or a more probable alternative if you ask me - it mirrors his own IQ. And what more, it is not even an original script. Yes, the movie is so bad that it is expected to be based on an original script written by Sajid Khan himself. The end product is Sajid's but there is an original version of it, which is a million-fold better than what Sajid Khan made it out to be. The basic plot or script that provided the groundwork for this atrocious film is sneakily ripped off without being given any credit, or even a single remote reference, from the Tamil movie 'Kaathala Kaathala (1998)' written by Kamal Hassan and Crazy Mohan. Kaathala Kaathala, a brilliant comedy with a fresh original script, is known for its high-witted one-liners and humorous wordplay, and is loosely based on William Shakespeare's 'A Comedy of Errors'. Sneaky player Sajid lifted the script, as usual, with a clever choice this time, but lacking the intelligence to deliver the goods as they are or the skill to adapt it to his own style (if he has any), he botched up the plot, twisted the characters to suit his poor perception of the Hindi audiences' sensibilities, entirely peeled off the Tamil-language humor written into the script, characterization, dialogues etc. and in the end dished out a horribly mauled, indiscreetly dumbed-down version of the sharp-witted original. "Sajid Khan is only as good as Farah Khan. The difference is, he doesn't get to loan some sense from Shahrukh Khan because Farah is busy using it to shine through. The truth about Farah's sense of film-making will be out with her first attempt at the same without Mr. Khan in the lead or anywhere behind the scenes", said a wise old philosopher ages ago. We now realize that the ostensibly lame Tees Maar Khan was made by the universe to serve that higher purpose - Truth.

A House Full of Errors

[sandhirflora · 3/10 · 2 May 2010]

HOUSE FULL (2010): When the maker is desperate for a "Housefull" but he knows there is no chance of it, he can make himself contend by keeping the same in title. It should rightly be called as "House of Fools" instead of Housefull. It is not that the film is badly, shabbily, poorly made or shot. On the contrary, it has high production values with exotic foreign locations, bikini, babes, beaches all quite well presented. To add spice to it, there is some comedy of mistaken identities which is very painstakingly and methodically crafted, so much so that everything looks neatly staged. Yes staged, not happened. This is where the makers failed as they have drawn inspiration from same old stories from old textbooks of 1990s viz. David Dhawan & Inc comedies ( Though in today's scenario, how much they too qualify as comedies is altogether different issue) . Though hilarious moments are there but very little viz. On getting electric shocks Akshay & Reiteish performs break dance on street or presence of a Tiger in house etc One require certain logic even in the mindless situations also, which is totally absent here. The on going is highly predictable. Every recent trick of loud conventional comedy is conveniently used, re-used, abused and that too forcibly. The result is such that the audience will get to see same old things and that too in the same old form with zero imagination. There is no real conflict in the central plot. When all gags on hand are exhausted and makers realized that in this whole 2.30 hrs of exercise nothing much is working out, they actually (not literally) brought a stock of "Laughing Gas" in the dull climax. I wish if the same laughing gas could be brought for audience in theaters also to give them some much needed laughter in the end. In the film, there are a lot of occasions where slaps are used on innocent characters for no reason. Director Sajid Khan would have done a great service if he himself have stepped into one such character and have taken this Honor, then that would have been a real anti-climax and would have given audience some relief !

Wholesome entertainment

[BiswajitSince2005 · 8/10 · 3 July 2010]

If you leave your brains in your home, this movie is a perfect watch. A perfect entertaining movie for weekends.

The movie was released at a time, when movie after movie were duds and not one of them were watchable excepting Paathshala. Non stop laughter and entertainment is what this movie is all about. Akshay, Ritesh, Deepika, Jiah, Arjun Rampal, Lara, Boman, and Randhir Kapoor all of them have given powerhouse performance. Only the story could have been a bit better. Akshay as usual is the funniest man around in the movie. There is entertainment and humour in the movie but in installments.

Overall the movie is a must watch irrespective of some negative points.

Not so funny with a terrible climax.

[bobbysing · 4/10 · 2 May 2010]

Sajid Khan sounded very confident in his interviews before the release of "Housefull". He even went on to predict the success of his second project which eventually raised the expectations level of the viewers to a great extent. And with the IPL season coming to an end, the movie was projected to be the first biggie to finish off the lean period. But unfortunately the final product presented before the audience does not fulfill all the promises made by its makers completely. It's a mixed bag of comic moments blended with some emotional stuff which entertains only in bits and parts and ends up in a terrible manner.

In short, "Housefull" fails to come out as a thorough entertainer and lacks the required pace which is a must for a hilarious laugh riot. It starts off very calmly and goes on with its storyline about a loser, in a very lethargic style. Surprisingly, I found the energy levels very low in the movie, particularly in the first half, which is not normally the characteristic of a Sajid Khan project. Sajid has always been fast, witty and highly energetic in all his previous ventures, be it a movie or a serial. But in "Housefull", his famous style of humor is visible only in parts and that too more in its second half.

The film can be divided into two different parts as far as its story plot is concerned. The first half deals with the story of Akshay getting married to Jiah Khan, facing an immediate shock after the first night and then meeting Deepika Padukone as her next love. Along with that there is another angle of a married couple, Ritesh Deshmukh & Lara Dutta, living in London against the will of Lara's father, played by Boman Irani. This part purely deals with the love story of these two couples and their related problems.

Post interval, the script moves on to the same seen before plot of "Mistaken Identities" which was also used in the last year Hit comedy "All The Best". Here both the couples are expecting one senior person from their families, coming to visit them in London. At their simultaneous arrival, they wrongly identify the characters living together, which leads to further confusions and chaos. Thankfully, the movie picks up post intermission and you get to see some good funny sequences which entertain. But again the climax comes as a big let-down, written around a silly thought of laughing gas, which miserably fails to generate any laughter and ends the movie on a terrible note. I really wonder how the director Sajid Khan, who is known for his wide collection of Home Videos couldn't think of any other climax for his big movie.

In a few words "Housefull" is not able to hold the viewer consistently. It's a kind of bumpy ride, which becomes slow at times, then picks up a little and again goes back to its snail pace at regular intervals. Though it has some good moments to enjoy mainly in its second half, but still they are not enough in numbers to provide a satisfactory result to the viewers. In short the movie only reaches half the mark with its routine emotional plot and uneven funny sequences.

On the performance front, Akshay Kumar doesn't play it loud this time and acts his part calmly. But I really missed his famous cunning smile in the comic scenes. Ritesh displays his comedy skills like a child act. In fact he can now easily be called as a master of comedies. Arjun Rampal impresses as the tough man. Out of the three girls, Deepika scores the most with her new found confidence and her stunning revealing water act in the beach song. She even excels in her emotional scenes this time, which shows that she is working on her skills. Lara looks gorgeous and like Ritesh, she is also fast becoming a pro for comedies. Jiah Khan gets less scope in the script, but looks great and sizzles in her few scenes in the movie. Boman Irani is perfect in the role of Gujrati father and Randhir Kapoor is fine as a London Casino owner. Lilette Dubey does a routine seductive act whereas Malaika Arora is just wasted.

Amusingly, out of its entire star-cast the most entertaining cameo comes from Chunky Pandey as an Italian Hotel owner. I seriously found his few scenes in the first half as the most refreshing and funny moments of the entire movie. And I wish he was given more footage along with Akshay in the later part too.

From melody point of view "Housefull" has a fairly good soundtrack with few melodious songs shot well in the exotic foreign locations. But the remix track "Apni To Jaise Taise" lacks the solid punch which still sounds more impactful in its original. Another unimpressive and strange aspect of the movie is its Background Score, which I found very slow and unenergetic which literally did not match the movements on the screen. On the other hand, its cinematography is simply outstanding capturing the outdoors and the beaches in a mesmerizing style. On a funny note, the 3 beauties and their bodies flowing in the waters can also be well used for Sajid Khan's production's next new-year calendar.

Lastly, I would only like to say that "Housefull" will no doubt reap the benefits of being the first big movie released after the IPL season. But as a complete entertainer it doesn't live up to the expectations. With a sloppy script and sluggish pace it leaves you largely unsatisfied.