When I watch movies, I take notes.  What I am looking for are moments that will guide how I approach my review as a practicing Catholic.  As such, not everything I write down makes into a given article.  I wish I did more with these little reminders because, otherwise, why else should I keep them.  I have hundreds of pages of observations that will live on only in the space allotted to them in my notebooks, unless one day I go back and publish them separately.  I do not know who would be interested in them, but you never know.  Luckily, today’s film, Wedding Season (2022), contains a lot of moments that I am eager to share with you.  This is not because they are specifically Catholic, but they spoke to the myriad ways that God is so much bigger than the arbitrary differences we impose on cultures.  Take the line, “Let your love be greater than your fear.”  If that does not elicit comparisons to, for example, 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love,” then I should probably find something else to do with my life.  For the rest, please continue reading.

The only thing that Asha (Pallavi Sharda) loves at the beginning of Wedding Season is her job as a financial person (I do not understand this world) for a start-up encouraging female endeavors around the world.  In the eyes of Suneeta (Veena Sood), Asha’s mother, the young woman devotes too much time to her career.  To remedy the situation, Suneeta sets up an online dating profile for Asha, saying that the economist is looking for her “Indian prince.”  Asha learns of this from her co-workers, and the next time she is home visiting her parents, she voices her displeasure.  Suneeta is unmoved, emphasizing that Asha’s profile already has a match.  The prospective boyfriend is Ravi (Suraj Sharma), and Suneeta wants to arrange a date.  Asha flatly refuses, indignant over what her mother has done, and stating that she is not sure that she wants to get married.  Suneeta is horrified and refuses to delete the profile.  After consulting with Priya (Arianna Afsar), Asha’s engaged sister, Asha agrees to see Ravi under the condition that her online dating information is removed.  Suneeta agrees, but then adds the further caveat that Asha must attend all the upcoming weddings planned throughout the summer.  Asha protests, citing her need to continue preparing for a big presentation to an investment group from Singapore that she already botched in a previous scene.  Suneeta references Asha’s need to stay connected to their community, and the guilt trip works.  Hence, it is off to a local burger joint to have the meeting with Ravi.  It is evident that he is smitten with her from the beginning, but it takes a little bit for his charm to begin to work on her.  All the same, she makes it clear that her work takes priority.  On the other hand, he is vague about his current employment, saying that he had gone to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), left a start-up company, and is currently only helping his father’s, Dinesh (Manoj Sood), restaurant remain open.  Despite some witty banter, she keeps an emotional distance and he leaves shortly after their food arrives.  Following this, the title period begins.  At the first reception, while Asha is focused on her job instead of having a good time, who should appear but Ravi.  After receiving some extra pressure from some of the other Indian guests about a relationship, Asha comes up with the idea of pretending they are dating for the sake of more harmonious interactions with everyone who is making them feel as if they are failures for not having a significant other.  Though he is less interested in pretending, he goes along with the scam.  For the initial few ceremonies, she keeps to her computer while he has a good time.  Eventually, he prevails upon her to close the laptop and get on the dance floor.  The most significant change occurs when she gives an excuse to him in order to attend a work function, only to discover that he is the disc jockey (DJ) for the event.  Indeed, this is his actual job.  Now that he has opened up some more, she does the same for him, and they begin to fall in love.  Yet, there is the looming presentation.  What had failed her before was relying on numbers when the Singapore people wanted a story as to why they should give their money.  Ravi encourages Asha to share her own testimony, and she is successful, so much so that they decide to give her a promotion that involves moving to London.  Suddenly, she is caught between her love for her work and the only world she has ever known.  Her parents, though, mistake her big news to mean that she is engaged to Ravi.  As such, they arrange a lunch for everyone involved, only to be disappointed that this is not the reality.  It gets worse.  Ravi admits to everyone, including Asha, that he never graduated MIT.  Added to this is the insult, only in Asha’s view, that Ravi had invested his own money into the deal she closed, which makes her feel that it was not accomplished entirely on her own.  In any case, she feels betrayed.  It takes her co-workers pointing out that he truly cares about her, as well as some encouragement from Vijay (Rizwan Manji), her father, to make her realize her error.  Still, she waits until the day of Priya’s wedding to go to Ravi and apologize.  Asha finds him with another woman, but this turns out to be her cousin.  Unsurprisingly, Ravi had been booked to perform at Priya’s reception, and there he makes his declaration of love.

If while reading the synopsis of Wedding Season you thought this all sounds familiar, then I would not blame you.  Its plot structure is standard for a romantic comedy, but it makes up for it in speaking to the heart of this Catholic reviewer.  I already mentioned the line about love in the introduction.  It also alludes to second chances and reconciliation, two concepts that are as Catholic as they come.  Indeed, reconciliation was a major theme of the homily I heard in Mass today.  Another one that struck me is when one of the sets of parents (I forget the specific one) makes the observation that their lives are better when others, like their children, are better.  It speaks to the idea of community that is central to Catholicism.  Our world needs more of the notion that by helping others we also help ourselves, and this is something Jesus preached constantly.  In a broader sense, though, the movie is about embracing your heritage.  In the beginning, Asha wants little to do with her Indian background.  In a sense, she is like any other face in corporate America, driven by the desire to get ahead in her career.  It is her mother who points out a truth any Catholic could agree with: careers fade.  God is eternal, and He is with us from the start of our lives.  Asha becomes happier and more fulfilled only when she comes to terms with her family’s culture.  On the same token, she makes it her own.  A lot of people think that what our families give us, like Catholicism, is a take it or leave it scenario.  You either follow the program or you are something else.  The Church and God says differently.  While there are guidelines to follow, which also renew the Faith, it is about having a relationship with God first.  This sort of thinking is what led me back to the Church all those years ago, and The Legionnaire is in many respects about making the Faith my own.  In turn, like we see with Asha’s story, my hope is that what I do helps others.  Maybe you can do that by subscribing.

With all this helpfulness, there is one minor quibble with Wedding Season.  I am all for ecumenism.  In fact, tomorrow I am going to a protestant church service, and I have been thinking of it as a cultural exchange.  These connections are nice, but you have to be careful about losing who you are.  I feel that happens a little with what you see here.  It is also not ideal that things like horoscopes are so openly discussed.  Otherwise, this is a fun little movie that I think you will enjoy.