CNET Networks Entertainment GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer | Metacritic | MP3.com | TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games Books TV
Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Film

Upcoming Release Calendar
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

 

Wide Releases

sort by name sort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

 

Limited Releases

sort by name sort by score

97 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
83 Alexandra
43 Anamorph
35 Babysitters, The
32 Backseat
80 Band's Visit, The
62 Battle for Haditha
47 Bella
63 Blind Mountain
71 Blindsight
47 Boarding Gate
63 Body of War
58 Bra Boys
70 Caramel
54 Cashback
44 Chaos Theory
32 Chapter 27
69 Chicago 10
82 Chop Shop
46 CJ7
78 Counterfeiters, The
30 Cover
48 Dark Matter
35 Deal
61 Dhamma Brothers, The
92 Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The
73 Duchess of Langeais, The
20 Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
58 Fall, The
43 Favor, The
58 First Saturday in May, The
57 Flawless
87 Flight of the Red Balloon, The
xx From Within
44 Frontier(s)
59 Fugitive Pieces
41 Funny Games
66 George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead
61 Girls Rock!
55 Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
57 Grand, The
58 Hats Off
68 Honeydripper
xx Jack and Jill vs. the World
67 Jellyfish
xx Kiss the Bride
37 Life Before Her Eyes, The
72 Life of Reilly, The
50 Look
65 Married Life
35 Meet Bill
63 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
54 Mister Lonely
52 My Blueberry Nights
71 My Brother Is an Only Child
52 Noise
61 OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
83 Paranoid Park
55 Pathology
48 Penelope
90 Persepolis
62 Planet B-Boy
xx Plumm Summer, A
67 Praying with Lior
46 Previous Engagement, A
72 Priceless
17 Prom Night
69 Redbelt
72 Roman de gare
48 Run, Fat Boy, Run
85 Savages, The
24 Sex and Death 101
66 Shelter
75 Shotgun Stories
40 Sleepwalking
67 Snow Angels
64 Son of Rambow
71 Standard Operating Procedure
76 Stuff and Dough
64 Surfwise
xx Tashan
82 Taxi to the Dark Side
57 Teeth
56 Then She Found Me
55 Tracey Fragments, The
56 Turn the River
72 Tuya's Marriage
83 U2 3D
59 Under the Same Moon
76 Unforeseen, The
xx Unsettled
91 Up the Yangtze
55 Vice
79 Visitor, The
64 Water Lilies
45 Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?
57 Without the King
74 Witnesses, The
63 XXY
67 Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
75 Young@Heart
45 Zombie Strippers

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.



American Chai
Magic Lamp Distribution Services

American Chai reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 46 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.8 out of 10
based on 12 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 8 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for some sexual dialogue

Starring Aalok Mehta, Paresh Rawal, Sheetal Sheth, Josh Ackerman, Ajay Naidu, Aasif Mandvi, Jamie Hurley, and Anand Chulani

A funny, heartfelt, coming-of-age story about Sureel, a first generation Indian-American college boy who can't tell his traditional parents he wants to be a musician, not a doctor. (Fusion Films)


GENRE(S): Drama  
WRITTEN BY: Anurag Mehta  
DIRECTED BY: Anurag Mehta  
RELEASE DATE: Theatrical: April 5, 2002 
RUNNING TIME: 92 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

Audience Award for Best Feature, 2001 Slamdance International Film Festival; Audience Award, 2001 Gen Art Film Festival; Best Feature, Technical Achievement Award, 2001 Philadelphia Festival of Independents

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80
Film Threat Merle Bertrand
This well made, slightly cornball and riotously comical romantic comedy not only extols the old fashioned American dream, but charmingly celebrates the virtues of the great American melting pot as well.
Read Full Review
75
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
The picture uses humor and a heartfelt conviction to tell a story about discovering your destination in life.
Read Full Review
70
New Times (L.A.) David Ehrenstein
Full of fresh and unexpected observations about the cross-culturally complex lives of second-generation Indians living in the U.S.
Read Full Review
63
New York Post Megan Lehmann
Much of the movie's gentle charm comes from Mehta, the director's younger brother, making his acting debut.
Read Full Review
60
The New York Times Lawrence Van Gelder
American Chai may not tell a new story, but in its understanding, often funny way, it tells a story whose restatement is validated by the changing composition of the nation.
Read Full Review
60
TV Guide Ken Fox
Mehta says it all so articulately and with such good humor.
Read Full Review
60
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
Perceptive, good-natured movie.
Read Full Review
50
The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
The ethnicity of its leads is the only novel aspect of an otherwise bland exercise.
Read Full Review
50
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
There are no surprises in this movie -- not even in the Bollywood parodies, when the hero and heroine finally, subversively kiss. There is talent, though.
Read Full Review
30
Washington Post Desson Thomson
This ethnic family sitcom thing is rapidly turning into wearisome cliche, and American Chai doesn't hold a candle to either "Beckham" or "Greek Wedding."
Read Full Review
30
Village Voice Ed Park
As earnest as a community-college advertisement, American Chai is enough to make you put away the guitar, sell the amp, and apply to medical school.
Read Full Review
30
LA Weekly Mark Olsen
Chai's structure and pacing are disconcertingly slack. Missing the loose ends and ambiguities of actual conversation, the dialogue makes characters sound like they're delivering speeches rather than interacting.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

T. Thomas gave it an 8:
This movie makes a great point while making you laugh from time to time. I think it's one of the better Indian American movies made.

[Anonymous] gave it a 10:
This was a great movie. These critics say it makes u want to put away your musical instruments and go to medical school when it actually does the exact opposite. This movie has a great plot and some very funny parts to it. If it was focused only on comedy like "American Desi" then the plot wouldn't be as developed. "American Desi" is funny but has a very poor plot as compared to this movie.

J. K. gave it a 9:
I don't know what these reviewers are talking about...this movie is solid. Funny, touching and some great music.

Rajesh L. gave it a 10:
Funny!!

Tarik T. gave it an 8:
I actually thought it was funny considering I am not a fan of indian movies. Some reveiwers are stuped.

Discuss this movie in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | BOOKS | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

About CNET Networks | Jobs | Advertise | Partnerships                                Visit other CNET Networks sites:

Copyright ©2007 CNET Networks, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use