A zom-com – a zombie comedy – that sets up the attitude that is expected from the audience: suspend disbelief. If you are able to do that then you will buy into the stoner world of two urban slackers and their virtuous friend who find themselves in the middle of a bizarre experience.
When Luv (Vir Das) gets dumped by his girlfriend and Hardik (Kunal Khemu) loses his job, the boys pile on to their friend Bunny’s (Anand Tiwari) work trip to Goa. Once there, they learn of a rave party organized by the Russian mafia on a remote island. It’s a hedonistic and heady party – with the latest party drug being served on a silver platter. Things couldn’t get better for the trio until the following morning when they discover the island’s secret. It’s populated by zombies.
The only person who can save them from this nightmare is Boris (Saif Ali Khan), a party organizer and former Mafioso who ‘kills dead people’. Having rescued Luv’s friend Luna (Puja Gupta), the only salvation for this motley crew is to get off the island.
The creators, led by director Raj and DK, blend humour with dashes of fear to keep you entertained. They craft some truly hilarious scenes with gags being distributed equally across all the male actors. The dialogues are natural and the performances largely match up. Attention to zombie make up, and even the performances of all the extras playing the undead, enhances the mood.
One grouse is that Boris’s back story could have been better developed. The writers lost out on an opportunity to create a potentially cult character.
The second half gets repetitive with too many scenes of the group almost becoming lunch for the zombies or of zombies having their brains blown out. The set up and camaraderie will remind you of Delhi Belly, maybe with a hint of Zombieland and Lost.
Ultimately the movie has a message and it’s reiterated by the characters who throughout recite a management mantra: of asking ‘what do we know; what have we learnt’. Among the lessons learnt is to say no to drugs!
Sachin-Jigar’s music integrates well with the setting and characters adding a definite layer of enjoyment to an already fun ride.
Das works well in ensemble scenes but without the backing of his more accomplished co-actors, his lack of skill shows. Tiwari stays in character throughout and delivers his lines with requisite ease. Gupta makes a respectable debut, being required to be the only straight-laced character. I would have liked to have seen more of Saif Ali Khan. But it’s Kunal Khemu who sparkles. I was surprised to note his credit for dialogue too. He is funny, sharp and easy on the eyes.
Go Goa Gone is irreverent and hilarious in parts.
Rating: ***
