'Happy Ending' Movie Review: Happy, but Not Quite There

IBTimes India Rating: 2.5

"Happy Ending" is what happens when you run out of scripts.

Talented director duo, Krishna DK-Raj Nidimoru, narrates the story of a boorish love-hater Yudi Jaitley (Saif Ali Khan), Los Angeles-based author living off past glories.

Five years into a worry free life, his best-selling novel "Operation Payback" makes an exit from the bookstores and so does his bank balance. He defaults on his car loan repayment and is stuck in a creative limbo. Enter Aanchal (Ileana d'Cruz), an equally free-spirited LA author with best seller "Crazy Hearts" to her credit and a commitment-phobic. What unfolds next isn't too hard to imagine.

Yudi's life takes an unprecedented turn when Armaan (Govinda), an ageing superstar looking at overtaking multiplexes back home, arrives and asks him to write something Hollywood-ish for him. Amid all the life-changing decisions, heart breaks and new beginnings, Kalki Koechlin's Riyaa gets very few opportunities to shine in the film. In a nutshell, whether Yudi finally comprehends the concept of love is what this rom-com holds for you.

Saif Ali adds shades of "Hum Tum", "Salaam Namaste" and "Love Aaj Kal" to make Yudi, the flamboyant writer, more enjoyable. Ileana is barely there with her miss-perfectly-dressed oh-I'm-too-cool-to-be-in-a-relationship act. Koechlin's talent never gets enough room and is lost in the maze laid out by the screenwriters.

The storyline isn't exceptional and will never keep you guessing, but what really make "Happy Ending" worth its time is its brilliantly-placed comic sequences. At first, it might appear to be a mish-mash of all the classics one might have watched, but the genuine laughs it has to offer only does justice to the viewers' time at the theatre and makes one want to set aside the loopholes for a while.

Having churned small-scale films like "99", "Shor in The City" and "Go Goa Gone", this fare did come across a struggling attempt to paint a larger canvas for the directors. However, the side-splitting humour and the well-crafted narrative is a plus and ferries the boat pretty well.

The witty one-liners by Govinda, Saif's inimitable charm and "G Phaad Ke" are the high-points of the film. Watch out for Kareena Kapoor Khan and Preity Zinta's special appearances.