Definition Please: Film Review
Sujata Day‘s directorial debut Definition Please, which she also wrote, produced, and stars in, originally debuted on the film festival circuit in 2020. But after receiving backing from Ava DuVernay‘s company ARRAY, it has been given a wide Netflix release.
In this film, Day stars as Monica, a former national spelling bee champion who is stuck living at home in Greensburg, Pennsylvania with her ailing mum Jaya (Anna Khaja). When their mum gets worse, her estranged brother Sonny (Ritesh Rajan) returns home for a while and it is clear something went down between them before. They have to try to put the past behind them for the sake of their mum.
This feels like a coming-of-age story, even though Monica is in her mid-30s. She’s got a big case of arrested development. Even though she is super smart and could easily get her dream job, she hasn’t made the most of her potential and seems scared to make that leap and put herself first for once. Monica has prioritised her mum and her spelling bee students but having Sonny back home forces her to really examine her life and what she wants.
I thought Definition Please was a really sweet and lovely film about family, mental health, and making that scary leap into adulthood. The script is funny, relatable and also very touching at times and the actors gave Day’s characters buckets of personality. I was keen to learn more about their relationships and understand why Monica is the way she is. I also learned a bunch of new words too – they appear onscreen whenever Monica thinks of them and she spells them out and gives us the definition. I liked this device a lot and it’s not overused.
Day is funny, likeable and appealing as Monica; she feels like she could easily be your friend. I was thrilled seeing Lalaine, who I literally haven’t seen in anything other than Lizzie McGuire, as her BFF Krista. I loved her attitude. Rajan tackles Sonny’s mental health issues well – he is so charming and nice one minute and scary the next.
I really enjoyed Definition Please; it’s such a heartwarming way to spend 90 minutes. Worth checking out.
On Netflix from Friday 21st January