Friday Night Plan Review - A Defamatory Friday Night Teenage Comedy, But Approachable

Friday Night Plan Review: Vatsal Neelkantan's teenage comedy, Friday Night Plan, stars Babil Khan, Amrith Jayan, Medha Rana, Aadhya Anand, Juhi Chawla, and others. This tradition of the Friday Night Plan, Saturday Night Plan, or Weekend Plan is quite familiar to today's teenagers. So, they are likely to find themselves and their fun here. Even some adults who have just passed through those traditions in the social media era would be able to relate to the film. However, my generation or my previous generation—90s and 80s kids—won't be able to digest it. It's defamatory for us, and unfortunately, we are the ones who have to review it by keeping our conscience alive (as reviewers). The idea of school and college is different for us. It's nostalgia that we will never forget. That's why it's frustrating to see today's spoiled brats defaming our educational and nourishing-age nostalgia. I hated Karan Johar's Student Of The Year (2011) for the same reason. That film literally destroyed every unimaginable definition of high schools and colleges for my generation. So, the people who enjoyed SOTY would have a great time watching FNP too. Vatsal can be blamed for taking references from or copying Hollywood movies.John Landis made a gross-out vulgar comedy for teenagers that never looks bad and is enough to eat up the whole "American Pie" franchise with "National Lampoon's Animal House" (1978). It remains a cult and will be difficult to surpass. But are we ready to accept such adult content with so many issues from censor boards, communities, and religious organisations? I guess no. So, let's be happy with sort of average and one-time-watch flicks and have no complaints at all. "Superbad" was about virginity; "Project X" takes you to a wild party; "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" was about breaking the fourth wall; and Neelkantan writes his own story after watching all these films that suit Indian audiences and their ideas about teenage comedy, family drama, and, of course, romance. Friday Night Plan may be defamatory and annoying to one or two generations, who might not even have a Netflix subscription, so let's just go ahead and say it's not a big deal. It's funny in parts; it has some comedy here and there, and it also adds some family values to say goodbye with a better conclusion portion.Friday Night Plan is about Sid (Babil Khan), a nerd and a bookworm who is called Shitty Sid by other students. He has an irresponsible brother named Adi (Amrith Jayan), who does nothing in life but spoil things for the close ones. After scoring a winning goal by mistake, Sid is invited to FNP, which he is not familiar with. Adi convinces him to join the party so that he can go along. Sid gives his nod since he wants to ask Nad (Medha Rana) from prom night. They take their mother's car while she is away and think that they will return it to the place before she comes back. Adi, being Adi, spoils the night and the car too. Sid and Adi have a blasting night, but will they be able to get the car back and kill the indifference between them? Calm and smart Nits (Aadhya Anand) plays an important role, but the suspense in her character shouldn't be revealed here for good.Friday Night Plan begins unenthusiastically, on a lukewarm note. The conversion between Sid, Adi, and their mom seems very natural, but the conflicts don't. Soon after scoring "One Goal," almost every girl and boy in the high school is talking about Sid—that scene when he comes out of a washroom and receives overwhelming reactions from everyone standing outside. Come on, man, I have been to school and college; I have been a school topper and sports champion; and I have done many more important things than this. Believe me, it doesn't happen like that. Vatsal's storyline and screenplay have just exaggerated everything related to teenagers in high school. The party was supposed to be filthy with lots of beer, drinks, games, and romantic engagements, but it all looks so boring and repetitive here. Where's something fresh? At least bring some fresh conversations if you can't write fresh scenes. Remember that letter trick from Hrithik Roshan, Rani Mukerji, and Kareena Kapoor's "Mujhse Dosti Karoge?" You'll find it's been used here after two decades. That's how dated the screenplay is. I am glad that the conclusion portion was slightly better and that the film ended quickly before reaching the red level.Babil Khan didn't look his age in Netflix's Qala, and moreover it was a big mismatch because of its dark and intense tone. It's a pleasure to see him fit the age of the role he's playing here. In FNP, Babil looks exactly like that student, that brother, and that son you'd imagine as a mature teenager. I loved his dialogue delivery in every scene when he gives an argumental speech to his brother. Amrith Jayan is the perfect chatterbox and cool boy. Aadhya Anand looks simply breathtaking in every scene, and I'm glad that her character wasn't overexposed. She stays silent most of the time, but whenever she opens her mouth, she will say something that others can't. The crush of the college, Medha Rana, adds a lot of glamour to the film, and she has good screen space too. Juhi Chawla as a mother doesn't do anything wrong with her character, while the supporting cast of Ninad Kamat, Aditya Jain, Rishabh Joshi, Vyom Vyas, Ria Chaudhari, and others is okay.Coming to technical aspects, Family Night Plan is a well-set film. The cinematography by Krish Makhija has a few frames to look at. Some slow mos and pauses are irritating, though. The dialogues have an urban touch—actually, too much urban talk, which won't get any acceptance from the masses. Vatsal could have worked on many things as a filmmaker, but mainly the whole set-up of the film. A teenage comedy with less teenage connect is indeed harmful. One needs to deal with it smartly because the age, which draws the entire humour of the film, isn't too mature and smart. When you see Animal House, you know that it's all about madness. You are not supposed to find any logic or sense there because the characters are presented in such a manner. With FNP, what goes wrong is that it attempts to be sensible sometimes, which is contrary to its comic flavour. Sid, for instance. He is responsible and sensible, with so many thoughts in his head, but he will lose all of them just after seeing a glimpse of a girl. How plausible is that? It's good once because you have to lose some sensitivity to take the story forward, but in Sid's case, we see him repeating the same mistake again, and he does not even realise it. That's immature. You show me "Stanley Ka Dabba," and I'll watch it countless times because the film never defies my ideas of school and its image. Vatsal loses a grip on his conviction with things like these again and again. It would have been better if he could have avoided that. Anyway, the film isn't made to become intellectual, so it's okay. It's a fun ride, and it's engaging within 100 minutes, so enjoy it if it suits your age.