Review of Outsourced (2007) by Steven B — 29 Jan 2011

There's something undeniably offputting 'bout this pic. Though it pretends admiration for Indian people and their culture, its America-centrist outlook can't help but depict them as slightly cute and backward and charming.

After about 65 minutes of predictable, safe, all-too-tidy plot coincidences, we're rewarded with a minimal amount of sexual tension--thanks mostly to Ayesha Dharker's mega-watt smile. Josh Hamilton, though likable, is too limited in range and charisma to provide that difficult transition between jaded corporate schleb and wide-eyed romantic.

In only one scene does this pic come close to earning our transformation: while Hamilton steps into a communal pond to rinse away the coloured Haldi and Kumkum powders he's been pelted with, an overhead shot pivots downward as he swims.

..and, as he looks about, his face registering wonder and tranquility, India's horizon slides into frame behind him. It is a moment--accidental, I'm sure--that is as lyric as this quaint flick gets.