Coffee With Kadhal Review: Sundar C's latest offering requires a zillion cups of coffee to sit through

1.5/5

Story: Three brothers, who have gotten themselves into messy relationships, try to keep their family together as they battle their personal issues

Review: Coffee with Kadhal is a perfect example of too many cooks spoiling the curry, and in this case, coffee! The film is billed as a feel-good romantic comedy, but neither does it make you feel good, nor do the characters make you care for them, nor does it evoke much laughter. What you are served instead is some lurid skinshow, jokes that fall flat and a confusing hodgepodge of relationships.

The plot revolves around four siblings- played by Ravi (Srikanth), Saravanan (Jiiva), Kathir (Jai) and Dhivyadarshini. Divyadarshini's character is like the mother hen among the brothers who tries to keep the flock together, but has a special place in her heart for Saravanan as they are twins. Saravanan breaks up with his girlfriend Neetu (Aishwarya Dutta) and moves back to his hometown in Ooty. Kathir is in love with his best friend Abhi (Amritha Aiyer) but decides to marry Diya (Malvika Sharma) as the wedding would help him acquire a piece of property that he has always wanted to get hold of. But sparks fly between Diya and Saravanan, which leads to a fight between the brothers. In meantime, Ravi, who is married to Radhika (Samyuktha) gets into a one-night stand with Sara (Raiza Wilson), who later gets engaged to Saravanan.

As if the confusing plot wasn't enough, most situations in the film absolutely do not make any sense.For instance, Diya who has travelled all the way from the US to meet her prospective husband Kathir, seems least interested in meeting him, but wants to make the day memorable by visiting her favourite jaunts in Ooty with Saravanan. Kathir, too, never makes an attempt to get to know her and the family seems to be in the dark about the situation even in the run-up to the big fat wedding they are planning for the two. Towards the end, the absurdity reaches its peak, when the entire family breaks through the airport security cordon like it's child's play and orders the flight pilot to reach out to passenger Diya. And there's some advice in store here!

When Yogi Babu and Redin Kingsley enter the scene as wedding planners, we sincerely hope the comedians salvage the coffee that is devoid of any flavour until then, but their jokes, too, are deadpan. In fact, the opening scene of the duo comes across as a rehash of the legendary petromax scene of the iconic comic duo Senthil and Goundamani.

And that's not all! Coffee With Kadhal also dishes out many outdated dialogues like, 'Attraction aayiram peru mela varum, aana affection orutharu mela than varum (which roughly translates to 'you can be attracted to many people, but you can have affection only on one person). Right from the beginning, the actors don't seem invested in their characters and most scenes come across as awkward. Even Yuvan's songs and BGM stick out like a sore thumb and don't really make you feel excited. And by the time  the film gets over, you want to run for some strong coffee to clear your head.

Verdict: This coffee is best avoided!