What a waste of my time!!!

Lack of good storyline.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

It's truly a shame that a charming little romantic-comedy such as "Shades of Ray" does not get a distribution deal, but rubbish rom-coms - "Made of Honor" (2008), "What Happens in Vegas" (2008), "My Best Friend's Girl" (2008) and "My Life In Ruins" (2009) - do.Writer-director Jaffar Mahmood is playing well within the conventions of the genre. But what makes his film work is that he doesn't rely on stock characters. Even when he has a stock character or two - such as the protagonist's controlling father, Javaid Rehman (Brian George), or the wacky roommate, Sal Garfinkle (Fran Kranz) - Mahmood tweaks their personalities just enough that they seem fresher than they otherwise might be.I realize there are no Renée Zellwegers, Ashton Kutchers or Cameron Diazes in this film to make it sell to a wider audience. But the lack of such actors is what makes this film all the more appealing.Films about southeast Asian families and the vagaries of growing up in one are terribly rare and Mahmood should be commended for taking a whack at the subject matter.Despite tackling issues such as parental control, tradition, familial obligations and love, Mahmood makes his film work because his characters seem new and rather unconventional, even though many of them are just that.The film is helped immensely by terrific performances all around. I have not seen the TV series, "Chuck," so I was unfamiliar with Zachary Levi as an actor. He makes Ray Rehman an entirely believable person, even managing to bring a sense pathos to a rather funny audition scene.Kathy Baker and George are terrific as Ray's parents. Baker, especially, gives her role such substance that she takes a minor bit and makes it much more than that. And, finally, it's wonderful to see the lovely Sarah Shahi given a role with some meat and bones on it. I have seen two other films recently in which she was never used to her full potential - "AmericanEast" (2007), in which she has a superfluous role, and "Crossing Over" (2009), in which she was purely window-dressing. In "Shades of Ray," Shahi gets a juicy role that allows her to be alluring, lovable and provocative. She has a sensational scene in a bar where she turns into a playful vixen that is thoroughly enticing.One character who feels short-changed is Noel Wilson (Bonnie Somerville). In fairness to Mahmood, he resists the temptation to turn her into a bad person, though, given the trappings of the genre, in one scene, he gives her dialogue that seems completely out of character."Shades of Ray" does not turn the romantic-comedy genre on its head or anything of that ilk. It's a pleasant diversion and explores a side of American society rarely seen in Hollywood movies. It's most definitely a far cry better and more enjoyable than the romantic comedies Hollywood studios chuck out by the dozen.

I quite enjoyed this film. I saw it at the Ausitn Film Festival and it was one of the best we saw. There was a Q&A that followed that had the writer/director Jaffe and many of the cast. Listening to them speak really made it clear why this film was so good. Zach Levi was wonderful and really did do a great performance. I like the relationship between the family members, it felt real. I really hope this film finds distribution because it truly deserves a shot. It's a beautiful story of family and finding one's own way through life. Jaffe wrote a script that was very heartfelt and honest. Good luck to him and I hope we get to see more of his work. Well done.

Brilliant exploration of identity conflicts of new generation Americans of mixed ethnicity; Perfectly portrayed by Zachary Levi as son of a Pakistani immigrant father and Caucasian catholic American mother; Timely, since our president-elect Barack Obama (product of mixed ethnicity) went through identity crisis in his early life; Insightful in portraying struggles of first generation immigrants - in this case, a Pakistani father (masterfully played by Brian George) who after 35 years of blissful living in America is still struggling with his early values.Jaffar Mahmood as writer/director has done an excellent job in casting where all the characters are able to convey the multitude of human emotions - Love, joy, desires, hopes, conflicts- in such an effortless manner as if they are really living through it all. Congratulations Jaffar for being able to achieve this caliber of movie as your first venture on shoestring budget. I hope some insightful distributor will have the "audacity" of showing this movie to American audience at large.

I have seen this film twice now and I thought the second time it would not be as humorous as the first. I was totally wrong, in fact I found it even more enjoyable. The actors did a superb job, especially where they had to develop the underlying culture of the characters.I watched the movie in New York with people that were seeing it for the first time, so I was able to really watch their reactions. A couple who live in NY, sitting next to me, and anytime there is a film festival they try and attend. In fact. they had seen several films during the week of the "South Asia Film Festival" and I asked them how they liked the film. It was their favorite one of the week!! I saw where the film won the "Audiance Favorite Award"....no surprise to me!! I only have to hope someone will come forward to help distribute this amazing film so many more of you will have the chance to view it!!! Dan in NH