90ml Review - A fairly enjoyable adult comedy which the irreverence works!

Bharath Vijayakumar

Adult comedy is something that Tamil cinema has not really gotten hold of. Couple of recent films might have clicked at the box office but they were more of a collection of double meaning jokes ( whether they were funny is a different question) strung together incoherently. The trailer of Anita Udeep's 90ml had me anticipating a film on similar lines with gender reversal being the only USP. But the film is a pleasant surprise and has more things going for it.

The irreverence in the film has no jarring tone. It looks the part. The film never gets into the male bashing zone. The men are in fact shown as caring. I had assumed that one particular male character in the film ( clean shaven with innocent looks ) who avoids intimacy with his wife would be mocked at. But nothing of that sort happens and he too gets a dignified closure. No one is judged. Love, marriage, divorce, live-in, homosexuality - all are touched upon through characters but the film never advocates anything other than freedom of choice. To each his/her own. And kudos for completely doing away with body shaming!

The leading ladies put up a good performance. This might not qualify as great acting but they do seem completely self aware and are relating to what is being dished out. It is the male actors who actually look a bit clueless. Or was it intentional to dumb them down and use them as eye candy (muscular and bearded). The first half breezes through and the interval block can compete for the best surprise of the year. But the second half isn't as seamless and things do get a little cloggy towards the climax. While the light hearted mood does prevail throughout, the film definitely needed more solid jokes. The music was too loud at times.

Bottomline:

90ml is no laughathon but is an adequately entertaining adult comedy that keeps things simple and delivers the goods. While it could have been a whole lot crazier, it is definitely a noteworthy outing with respect to the low bar that adult comedies in Tamil cinema have set.

Rating: 2.75/5