Although It Ends With Us led to never-ending lawsuits and legal drama, the movie was a major commercial success for Wayfarer Studios and Sony. Now, Wayfarer’s latest theatrical release, alongside Levantine Films and distributed by Blue Harbor Entertainment, is proving to be a critical hit.
A Nice Indian Boy has just received a Certified Fresh badge, Rotten Tomatoes confirmed. The LGBTQ+ rom-com premiered in early March at the South by Southwest festival, with a release recently on Apr. 4. Since then, the rom-com has enchanted both the critics and the audience, who gave it a near-perfect score, offering a rare agreement between both camps.
A Nice Indian Boy follows Naveen, an Indian-American doctor, who brings his fiancé Jay, a white man adopted by Indian parents, to meet his traditional family. Since its release, A Nice Indian Boy has settled on a 98% Certified Fresh from the critics out of 48 reviews, and the same rating from the audience on the Popcornmeter. The critics praised lead actors Karan Soni (the Deadpool franchise) and Jonathan Groff (Frozen, Mindhunter) for their performances, as well as how it tackles cultural themes and romance.
Observer’s Rex Reed praises director Roshan Sethi for tackling the love story between the two leading male protagonists «with wit, nuance and no interest in cliché,» as well as the «realism» of the script, calling A Nice Indian Boy «a small film with a big heart» that «comes along unannounced and captures your affection.» Boston Globe’s Odie Henderson calls it a «funny and charming romance,» noting it was «pure joy watching Naveen grow and learn to experience what Jay calls ‘the bigness of love.’ «
Collider’s Emma Kiely praises A Nice Indian Boy for being «a joyous, beautiful, and nuanced film,» likening it to cult classics like Four Weddings and a Funeral or My Big Fat Greek Wedding, highlighting that «not only does it call back to these adored classics from the ‘90s and early 2000s, but it’s also a queer love story that blows right past some of the heteronormative love stories that have been dropped on streamers in recent years.»
The only negative review comes from Metro Weekly’s André Hereford, who argues A Nice Indian Boy «looks great but lacks buoyancy,» highlighting that it handles the film’s themes «with insight and sensitivity,» but calls out «a certain stiffness» in the final act, noting it results in «a nice, inoffensive romance.»
The audiences praised the film as «the best kept secret in movie history,» praising its heart and humor, and realness.
A Nice Indian Boy Has Several Similarities to It Ends With Us
Although the two are not in the same genre, as It Ends With Us was an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel of the same name and dealt with topics like domestic violence, they share several similarities. Both come from Justin Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios, and he is a producer on both. Furthermore, both films have an exciting audience score, as It Ends With Us might have a rotten score of 55%, but it boasts a Verified Hot 89% score. The movie was also filmed at the same time as It Ends With Us and Deadpool & Wolverine between May 29, 2023, and June 21, 2023, as Soni starred in the latter.
A Nice Indian Boy has another big name attached to the project — Mindy Kaling, who serves as an executive producer. This comes after her recent success with the Netflix series Running Point.
A Nice Indian Boy is currently playing in select theaters.
