"Its contrived joviality only seeks in devaluing the film's own story..."

It may seem somewhat obvious to compare All in Good Time with East is East, given they both follow British Asian culture in the North of England, but such comparisons are justified, as Nigel Cole's production is far too similar to the 1999 picture, yet unfortunately for the Made in Dagenham director, nowhere near as good.

We follow young married couple Atul (Reece Ritchie) and Vina (Amara Karan) -  both very much in love but struggling with the teething problems that they must overcome as newly-weds.

Their marriage begins frustratingly as their flight tickets for their Honeymoon turn out to be counterfeit, and must instead begin married life living at Atul's parents, having to put up with his obnoxious and unaffectionate father Eeshwar (Harish Patel).

Atul and Eeshwar have somewhat of a turbulent relationship, and Atul's aggravations are put to the test when living under the same roof as his tiresome father. Atul is also facing issues in the bedroom, unable to stimulate himself into losing his virginity with Vina, as the factors combined frustrate the young man, who begins questioning his current state of affairs and whether married life is for him.

Despite being written by Ayub Khan-Din, who also brought us East is East, All in Good Times feels quite unoriginal, as it becomes evident that Khan-Din has quite simply run out of ideas. The working-class Northern setting is similar, as is the predominant plot-line portraying the straining relationship between an Indian father and his more progressive sons. It just feels like it's just going over covered ground.

Yet where East is East shone was within its ability to tackle some very serious themes and to present such distressing scenes amidst what was a very witty and mirthful production, whereas All in Good Time focuses far more on the comedy aspect, yet with the unfortunate matter of not being very funny. Its contrived joviality therefore only seeks in devaluing the film's own story, as it becomes hard to take any of the more solemn scenes too seriously.

Such amiability is presented mostly in the character of Eeshwar, as Patel takes an almost slapstick approach to his role. The character is supposed to be somewhat out of touch with reality and quite hard on Atul, yet isn't stern or intense enough, simply proving to be too much of a comical figure. In fairness this did work in his favour in some respects as the picture is a comedy after all and he is the only truly funny character in it, displaying a great sense of comic timing and physicality. Meera Syal playing the mother Lopa is also impressive, as often tends to be the case with this experienced actress.

Yet such performances are let down by a lacklustre script, as the characters bear very little depth. As a result it becomes difficult to feel much empathy towards the married pair. The film begins with their marriage, but perhaps it may have been of more benefit to have created some background to their relationship, and actually built up to the marriage rather than begin with it. And when the script does finally attempt to bring some history and background to the family, the story-lines are too confusing and simply feel unnecessary.

All in Good Time is not that bad a film, certainly unpretentious and in parts charming and endearing, provoking the occasional chuckle - but unfortunately for Cole, such moments feel too few and far between.