Disclaimer - I am a big fan of Mohanlal-Sathyan Anthikad collaborations. But Ennum Eppozhum while not unbearable, was dull and never really rises above a certain level of amusing mediocrity.
Here are a few of the trite and antiquated characters, plot devices and plot developments used in Ennum Eppozhum:
1) The bumbling sidekick (played by the awful Jacob Gregory. This sidekick used to be played by Jagathi or Jagadish back in the good old days) who feeds off the hero and gets beaten up all the time.
2) The battle of the sexes - Lal and Manju Warrier hate each other in the beginning but obviously reconcile as the film nears its end.
3) Generation gap - Mohanlal is an old school journalist struggling with the diktats of his authoritarian new generation female boss.
4) The neighbors with a heart of gold - Innocent plays a role that he has done a billion times before this film. His conflict with Mohanlal's character is supposed to evoke laughter but it is mostly banal.
The clichés that I have listed above are not problematic by themselves. But they have now been done to death. The actors who used to carry these clichés off very well now seem jaded. The new generation of actors are simply not talented enough to rise above these clichés.
Mohanlal is overweight and sleepwalks through his role. Manju Warrier was too wooden.
There are many films of the 90s which were clichéd. But those films had writers who could write clever and witty dialog and flesh out characters that evoked sympathy. Unfortunately there are no such writers working in Malayalam cinema anymore.
Here are a few of the trite and antiquated characters, plot devices and plot developments used in Ennum Eppozhum:
1) The bumbling sidekick (played by the awful Jacob Gregory. This sidekick used to be played by Jagathi or Jagadish back in the good old days) who feeds off the hero and gets beaten up all the time.
2) The battle of the sexes - Lal and Manju Warrier hate each other in the beginning but obviously reconcile as the film nears its end.
3) Generation gap - Mohanlal is an old school journalist struggling with the diktats of his authoritarian new generation female boss.
4) The neighbors with a heart of gold - Innocent plays a role that he has done a billion times before this film. His conflict with Mohanlal's character is supposed to evoke laughter but it is mostly banal.
The clichés that I have listed above are not problematic by themselves. But they have now been done to death. The actors who used to carry these clichés off very well now seem jaded. The new generation of actors are simply not talented enough to rise above these clichés.
Mohanlal is overweight and sleepwalks through his role. Manju Warrier was too wooden.
There are many films of the 90s which were clichéd. But those films had writers who could write clever and witty dialog and flesh out characters that evoked sympathy. Unfortunately there are no such writers working in Malayalam cinema anymore.