Shades of Ray

Shades of Ray is a 2008 independent romantic comedy starring Zachary Levi (from the tv series Chuck).

Plot:  Levi plays Ray, a half-Pakistani, half-white man feeling pressure from his parents to settle down and get married.  That is also precisely Ray's plan, and he proposes to his (white) girlfriend.  As he waits for her to give him an answer, he meets and rapidly begins to fall for a Pakistani/white woman who has fully embraced her mixed-race heritage in a way he never has.  This begins to challenge his identity and he struggles to figure out who he is and what he wants.  In a subplot, while Ray is trying to sort things out, his parents arrive to complicate matters.

My Take: I watched this movie purely for Zachary Levi.  I was pleased with his performance, as I think he is an excellent comedic actor.  However, the movie as a whole grabbed me.  Can you escape from who you really are? Do you do what society tells you should do, or do you become your own person? This movie is well worth a watch.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Image
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a 2008 independent musical comedy starring Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, and Nathan Fillion.  This is a Joss Whedon project. Plot: Harris is Dr. Horrible, a wannabe evil "super-villain", who is juggling two lives: trying to earn membership in the Evil League of Evil by doing dastardly deeds, and also trying to get the love of his life to even notice him.  Fillion plays Captain Hammer, Dr. Evil's nemesis. My Take: Conceived and produced during the writer's strike of 2008 and originally shown in pieces on the internet, Dr. Horrible shows once again how truly artful and imaginative and AWESOME that Whedon is.  Not only is it funny and sweet, but the music and the singing are so amazing that I actually bought the soundtrack.  This is a really fun, short film to watch, and I would encourage anyone who likes good things to watch this.
Read more

I Have Never Forgotten You

I Have Never Forgotten You is a 2006 documentary. Plot:  Simon Wiesenthal was a Jew living in Nazi Germany before the Second World War.  Imprisoned by the Nazis, Wiesenthal lost dozens of family members and friends in the Holocaust.  After being liberated by the Americans, Wiesenthal volunteered to help them track down and charge Nazi leaders/officers with war crimes.  Wiesenthal evntually was able to help in the apprehension of over 1,000 Nazi war criminals. My take:  This is basically a biography of the life and work of controversial Jewish Nazi Hunter, Simon Wiesenthal.  A very powerful, moving documentary highlighting the cruelty of the Nazis and why many Jews fought for years to capture and imprison their former torturers.
Read more

Ken Burns' America: Empire Of The Air

Empire Of The Air is a Ken Burns historical documentary made in 1991. Plot: The history of radio is shown from the discovery of the inventions that made radio so innovative to the development of television.  The major inventions, the men who invented them, and the importance of radio in American culture are profiled in this documentary. My Take: I had never heard of Howard Armstrong, and that's a shame.  There are other men profiled who had roles in the development of radio as an entertainment and communication medium.  However, I had no idea that the the history of radio was such a soap opera.  It's a compelling tale, and it's a part of American history that is highly representative of both the brilliance and greed of those that make history.
Read more