One Two Three poster

One Two Three

wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?)

quick review:

1 2 3: Skimpy dresses - 4. Funny lines - 5. Loud actors - way too many. This wannabe comedy takes a dive into slapstick torture of third degree.

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Director: Ashwani Dhir
Running time: 130 minutes
Genres: Slapstick
More Movie Info

One Two Three - Preview

NOT A REVIEW (just my thoughts before the release)

One Two Three - Same Names, Dangerous Games. Interesting tag line - 3 men with the same name has immense potential for making you laugh your guts out without use of slapstick. But, the promos don't look like they really want to please non-slapstickers like me. What with cars landing wrong-side-up on the threesome's heads (on the official site). Anyway...when there is Paresh Rawal, there is hope.

Director and writer. Aswani Dhir has written for TV serials and is also writer for Krazzy 4 and U me aur Hum. Interestingly, both these movies are slated to release on the same day. Anyway, since I have not seen anything he has been a part of, it is actually possible for me to stick to the rule of "Go in with a clean slate and neutral expectations".

- meeta, a part of the audience

Usually in a movie which has a promo song running along with the opening titles, I block my brain from making any assessment - trying my best not to judge the proverbial book by its kitschy cover. But, the thought just wouldn't leave me. If this is how it starts, how do I go through the next two hours? And it worked! Thanks to the lowest possible expectations set in the first five minutes, it fidgets its way half-a-point up.

It’s regular slapstick with a dash of original one-liners thrown in. But, it feels like the one-liners determined the situation rather than the other way around. And the lack of flow is evident when you just shake your head in helplessness. This goes for both the dialogues and the screenplay, or lack thereof.

This is one of those brainless comedies that can't be seen without a brain. As in there are three people with the same name who reach the same place at the same time. So keeping track of the chaos cannot be done without some gray-cell exercise. And, honestly, I did see this as a situation with tremendous potential for craziness. But, it’s all too commonplace and just doesn't work out.

Neither do the production values - from the amateurish animation to the art design. The costume designer is fascinated by the scissors. We have holes and cuts in dresses where they don't belong. Setting trends? I hope not! These over-used, blunted-down scissors were then passed on to the editor. Low-budget, you see? Can't blame him for the jerks and jolts now, can we?

Now that so much is spent on putting the cut pieces of cloth together we need people to wear them. So we have the threesome - Sameera Reddy, Tanisha, and Esha Deol. Amazingly, and I'm using the word with all sincerity, Neetu Chandra is wearing just one costume, and is covered all over at that! Maybe those scissors were too blunt for cotton clothing by the time it was Neetu's turn. Thank goodness for some mercies!

Now that we have these ladies, what do we make them do? What women do best, of course...scream and screech and yell some more. Why distract the audience by giving them such things as meaningful dialogue? Consistent character would cause an outcry. To be fair though, in the name of gender equality, the men are dealt a similar hand too. Any hopes of Paresh Rawal saving the fort are demolished in the fifth minute of the movie where he is introduced as a bra seller. Need I say more?

The only people who do recognize their limitations are the lyricists. Since, they know they cannot write that well, so they wrote a few half-decent lines and got them repeated over and over till Raghav Sachar's music ran out. The latter does put his goods on display and how. A range of foot-tapping music remixed together. And he takes showcasing a step further by featuring himself in the end credits.

Barely different from the other slapstick churned out this shoddiness named One Two Three is absolutely passable. Waiting for next Friday, already...

- meeta, a part of the audience

15 reviewers(?) - 0 yays 4 so-so 11 nays

Warning: clicking on "full review" will take you to an external website that could contain spoilers.

So-So, by Akshay Shah, Akshay Shah : ...the movie is just another trashy comedy but I don’t understand why everyone’s been so harsh on the movie when it clearly achieves what it set out to?... full review

So-So, by Daliya Daspurkayastha, Bollywood Mantra : ... It lacks the masala of a perfect comedy but can be watched to avoid tensions for a moment... full review

So-So, by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ... One Two Three Director : Music : Lyrics : Starring : Ashwani Dheer Raghav Sachar Aditya Dhar, Munna Dhiman Sunil Shetty, Tusshar Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Upen Patel, Esha Deol, Sameera Reddy, Tanisha Mukherjee, Neetu Chandra. By Martin D'Souza, Bollywood Trade News Network Send to Friend view ONE TWO THREE videos view ONE TWO THREE videos If you are looking to have a laugh, ONE TWO THREE, provides humour in huge doses. And, though at times it does get a bit monotonous you are willing to let that pass because after 15 minutes into the movie and having endured a long, boring commentary, which describes the main characters, you just go with what the director wants you to do; leave your brains behind and laugh your guts out. You stop looking for sense because director Ashwani Dheer’s focus is getting the audience to have a hearty laugh. There are some stupid one-liners, which are witty nonetheless and every situation is a moment for comedy. And the situation here is a case of mistaken identity with three men sharing the same name Laxminarayan (Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal and Tushhar Kapoor) checking into hotel Blue Diamond for different purposes. As expected, the envelope they are to receive describing their job goes to the wrong Laxminarayan and therein lies the tragedy that opens up to a laugh riot. To be honest, there are some seriously funny moments that make you laugh the loudest, which dull the impact of a weak storyline... full review

So-So, by Amit R Agarwal, merinews : ...The film has plenty of below-the-belt humour (Paresh is a chaddi-undie vendor you see) that might offend the sensibilities of the puritans.... full review

Thumbs down, by Aparajita Ghosh, Apun Ka Choice : ... To this melee of characters add two youths ( Upen Patel and Tanishaa ) who inexplicably keep flitting in and out of the camera frames... full review

Thumbs down, by Jaspreet Pandohar, BBC : ...CRUDE ENTERTAINMENT... full review

Thumbs down, Business of Cinema : ...Seems like debutant director Dhir has got carried away by Shakespeare’s line – “What’s in a name” and has made a full length feature out it... full review

Thumbs down, by Khalid Mohamed, Hindustan Times : ...He could have called his take, Zero Zero Zero... full review

Thumbs down, by Rajeev Masand, IBN Live : ...Borrowing gags from a wide range of sources — the Mr Bean series, to a bunch of similarly tacky B-grade comedies —... full review

Thumbs down, by Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM : ...Substituting a cohesive script with witty one-liners and funny situations has never been the shortcut to success and never will be.... full review

Thumbs down, by Gaurav Malani, indiatimes : ... Want to sample some more caricature characters? There are plenty. There is a mafia kingpin called... no not Godfather... but Papa... full review

Thumbs down, by Anupama Chopra, NDTV : ...The film is rife with bargain basement gags... full review

Thumbs down, by Ashok Nayak, Now Running.com : ... The direction and screenplay are mediocre. Dialogues are witty at times but gets repetitive. Music is bad.... full review

Thumbs down, by Raja Sen, Rediff : ...Speaking of wince-provoking, there are the obligatory bunch of bimbettes... full review

Twitter reviews for this movie are not available.

3 readers - 0 yays 3 so-so 0 nays

Not Interested in Watching, by pure garcinia cambogia

Not Interested in Watching, by reviews of garcinia cambogia extract

Not Interested in Watching, by video production phoenix

This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.

Plot Summary

Three men with the same name land at the same place and time. Their objectives are different though. So guess what? Fate exchanges their objectives and we have a slapstick ready for you.

What Worked

    Dialogues given to the character who plays Tusshar Kapoor's boss. He has a funny analogy everytime he opens his mouth - which is like 5 times.

What did not

Note: This section simply lists the things that I did not like in this movie. This is not the overall impression about this movie. Please read the full review here

    Uh...ummm...Everything other than the five lines mentioned above...

One Two Three - Cast, crew, links

Official Sites:
Director:
Supporting Cast:
Screenplay:
Dialogues:
Cinematography:
Background Score:
Music Director:
Costume Designer:
Running time:
130 minutes
Reviewer:
Language:
Country:
Genres:

Comments (11)

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Hey Kiran, nope not seen office office. Don't get to watch too much TV. It is good to know people have liked this debut director's earlier work. We'll know soon enough.

hahaha... you ripped them apart.

Great review, I was waiting to read this one before actually booking my tickets... but now I won't even wait for the video release ;)

[...] [ Without giving the movie away [...]

was a pleasure meeting you at blogcamp mumbai. Pardon my poor memory, but I forgot your gmail id. Could you just drop it to me. My gmail id is [email protected]. Thanks.

Meetu,

Well conjured thoughts and your excogitated effort to write a poor review is un-awarded. I guess, you went along with your Spectacles sitting on your mid nose and wore your pants too tight that it constipated you.

Good fun and entertainment is what people expect from a movie and that is what this movie gives.(Period)

The entire movie hall was rolling in riots of laughter, after a long time, I would say someone really tickled the funny bone!

3 cheers to Ashwini Dhir.

Thanks Badal, for the trust, the link and the comment!

Hey Sachin! That was caustic and you know how to use your vocabulary too!! Ever considered writing movie reviews?


No worries Karamveer! Thanks for the link...

I am no where related to movie business. And i am sometimes lazy to write the comment over and over again, when the comment is same....So i dont see any reason why i shudn't copy paste the same comment...I wrote the comment in 1st place so I can and paste it where ever i wish to!

Hope it helps u digest your food wel tonight!

I used to like all reviews but this one not much. Coz i laughed a lot through out the movie except the ending[which was funny on a negative way].
My Rating:
paresh+sunil: 8*
tushar: 6*
movie: 6.5*
[i am not a movie reviewer by the way. just a personal thought only]

oh well, damu - there are hits and there are misses :)

Hey meetu...I thot I's also write a movie review so i wrote it on my blog, if you might wish to look at it.

http://sachinuppal.blogspot.com/2008/03/one-two-three-movie-review-laughter.html

Criticism is always appreciated by me!

Hey Sachin, thanks for the link. What can i say? The exact things that i did not like in the movie, you liked. To each his own :)

Btw, tried leaving a comment on your site, but it won't allow me to unless i am a blogger/google user!!

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