Abbey is competing with Jesus for the heart of her mother, at least she thinks she is. This hilarious film about a second-generation immigrant child trying to earn the approval of her parent gets off to a great start. She feels the need to lie to her mom about being accepted into Cambridge because that is what she wants for her, but the lies get more and more out of control as one fateful night partying with her bestie shows.
Leah Vanmali plays Abbey brilliantly as both a wounded child and an independent young woman who doesn’t want to live according to social expectations. As her best friend Nicole, Shanay Neusum-James is the support we all wished we had when we found ourselves crying in a dance club restroom. Nicole knows just how to rally the troops and command, “Make up!” to help her friend feel better about herself. But she also knows that ultimately, Abbey is going to have to be honest with her mother. As funny as this all is, the party started by “Bad Indian” comes to an abrupt and not totally believable end. It takes work to become one’s own person and many of us never get that parental approval we crave. The lies all crashing down on Abbey would more likely have taken a bigger toll on her relationship with her mother than was depicted in the climax here.
However, while the music is playing and the girls are having a great time, Bad Indian is a fun romp that captures their camaraderie. As it is also dedicated to the director’s mother who passed way too young, it is also a touching snapshot of her life viewed through the lens of a daughter grateful to her parent for allowing her to spread her winds and find her own way.
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