“Picture This” was a highly anticipated romantic comedy featuring “Bridgerton” breakout star Simone Ashley and Hero Fiennes Tiffin from the “After” movie franchise.
Ashley plays Pia, a struggling photographer who owns a portraiture studio with her best friend. In the opening, Pia’s mother reveals that she has kept family heirlooms in a safe for Pia and her soon-to-be-married younger sister Sonal. However, to access the jewelry, Pia must get married.
Pia is infuriated by this archaic caveat that her mother insists upon, but due to her financial troubles, she reluctantly agrees to have her family set her up on five dates.
Pia is also eager to start dating to help get over her high school ex, Charlie, played by Tiffin, who is the best man in Sonal’s wedding. Because Sonal and her fiancé have a month of Indian wedding festivities prepared, Pia and Charlie need to work together to make Sonal’s wedding dreams come true.
The story thus follows Pia as she navigates dating and pursuing her passion for owning a successful business.
Since its release on Amazon Prime on March 6, critics have noted a lack of chemistry between Ashley and Tiffin.
In a YouTube interview with BuzzFeed U.K., the comment section was also flooded with similar notes about the leads’ lack of chemistry.
One of the film’s shortcomings is the limited screen time between the main leads. As Pia goes on dates with different men, less screen time is attributed to developing their relationship.
Pia’s dates are absurd and provide comedic relief due to how disastrous the outcomes are. Clogging a toilet and accidentally poisoning her date are among some of the amusing moments.
For Bollywood fans, the movie also includes some familiar features such as fun dance sequences and elaborate Indian wedding customs. The film depicts these customs in a Western fashion; however, Sonal’s wedding preparations bring more excitement to the film.
A standout character in the movie is Pia’s best friend and co-worker, Jay. While Jay falls into the stereotypical “gay best friend” trope, he transcends that label by being a funny and supportive friend who helps Pia through the obstacles she faces.
After Jay smokes a joint with Pia in an attempt to cheer her up, Jay shares his coming out story to show her how they both have many pillars of support in their life. This was one of the many sweet and memorable exchanges between them.
During the end credits, Jay and Pia shared a dance that further solidified him as more of a main character than Charlie.
This film is centered around Pia’s relationships with friends and family. Aside from Jay, her other relationships were less progressive.
Pia and Sonal are assumed to be very close siblings, but both sisters are unsupportive of one another. Sonal guilt-trips her sister to go on the five dates, and Pia is rightfully called a “self-involved, difficult, spoilt prick” by her sister.
Nuanced relationships are important to include in media, but the movie fails to strike a balance between realistic and unaddressed unhealthy aspects in relationships.
Rom-coms are meant to be predictable and a bit corny, but aside from following the standard formula, “Picture This” adds nothing new to this beloved genre.
