Mark & Jay Duplass make the most common thing to happen during being stuck together Two young adults from India end up getting stuck living with each other during the coronavirus lockdown Ravi is a young man, his mother set up a dating profile to cure his solitude while Rita is a free spirit but a bit of a slob Both of them make best of the situation during this global crisis Love isn't something you can grow like a plant, just because two strangers meet doesn't mean they should automatically live together, there's nothing worse than sitting at home being cornered and afraid, we either choose to love or not to This isn't the most convincing love story given the setup but the fresh perspective is welcome Great chemistry between Karan Soni and Geraldine Viswanathan having real heartfelt moments although it is disposable after it's finished Companionship, exploration of love and loneliness, traditional values and arranged marriages are analyzed deeply here

A very charming movie that has a lot going for it. It's not just a romantic comedy, but is also an interesting take on Indian arranged marriages that neither condemns nor condones it. Oh yeah, it's also a movie about COVID. It sounds like it may come off as unfocused but it's anything but. It is very effective in these 3 main plot points and handles each aspect with a ton of grace. It doesn't quite sustain itself for its entire run time which already brief, but the moments it hits, it hits quite well.

Mark & Jay Duplass make the most common thing to happen during being stuck together Two young adults from India end up getting stuck living with each other during the coronavirus lockdown Ravi is a young man, his mother set up a dating profile to cure his solitude while Rita is a free spirit but a bit of a slob Both of them make best of the situation during this global crisis Love isn't something you can grow like a plant, just because two strangers meet doesn't mean they should automatically live together, there's nothing worse than sitting at home being cornered and afraid, we either choose to love or not to This isn't the most convincing love story given the setup but the fresh perspective is welcome Great chemistry between Karan Soni and Geraldine Viswanathan having real heartfelt moments although it is disposable after it's finished Companionship, exploration of love and loneliness, traditional values and arranged marriages are analyzed deeply here

The two leads are charming, but if you're going to base your ENTIRE film on a pandemic that we are still in, you should probably get some of the details right. I know I'm a stickler, but attention to detail matters. Nobody was wearing masks before the NBA shut down. There were no tests which in the beginning which was a disaster, but this movie forgets details that should still be in our consciousness. That being said, it is great to have a film that represents Indian-Americans and it's heartening to know they can make a subpar film just like all other Americans! Final Score: 5/10

It would take more than just a pandemic setting to refresh a genre as tired as the rom-com, so how about a generous dose of Indian flavouring to liven things up further? Roshan Sethi's debut directorial feature, which he has co-written with his lead actor, Karan Soni, follows closely the genre formula, yet it feels invigorating and even made a cynic like me laugh. Soni's Ravi and Geraldine Viswanathan's Rita seems a total mismatch when they're initially set up on a blind date by their parents which they couldn't wait to get over with. He's an uptight and nerdy romantic who's close to his mother while she's far from the traditional tee-total pescatarian her mother made her out to be. So when COVID hits, Ravi begrudgingly finds himself locked down at Rita's place. With a meet-cute set in the context of an Indian arranged marriage, and COVID being both the reason why they're forced together and then separate afterwards, the genre troupes are nicely reshaped even if the narrative beats remain the same. There's also a kind of Will and Grace vibe (without the mismatched sexuality) to the couple which is endearing and rife with comedic potential. Condensing the pandemic experience into the time-frame of this film is problematic and there are parts here that won't hold up to scrutiny, but they can be overlooked when the dialogue is this smartly written and the film as delightful and funny as this is. I suppose if I'd seen this any other time, I'd probably be less enamoured with it, but this has definitely brighten up my gloomy festival days of serious and bleakly meaningful films and I can't be that far wrong with a film classy and brave enough to invoke When Harry Met Sally and gets away with it.

7 Days is a lovely romantic comedy that values its subject matter and pulls the blinders off of a tradition that most of us westerners are hard-wired to consider somewhat prehistoric. The subject: Arranged marriages, a phrase that, with a knee-jerk reaction, makes you think of child brides, patriarchal tyranny and mandated unions based on anything but love. This movie seems to exist for the purpose of chucking that notion right out the window. Our view of arranged marriages tends to be bred from racial and cultural misunderstanding and a misappropriated view of exactly how it works. I'll admit, I learned something here. Director Roshan Sethi is out to break our hardbound notions of the subject through the tale of two 20-ish Indian-American kids Ravi (co-screenwriter Karan Soni) and Rita (Geraldine Viswanathan) who are, from the very beginning, not right for one another. Their union up to this point has been a long series of video chats that they've had with each other but mostly between their individual mothers. From the moment they meet they strike the wrong note. In the whirling maelstrom of the COVID-19 epidemic, he is the Felix to her Oscar, shocked by the home that she keeps (it's a mess) and the habits that he observes (she drinks beer and scarfs down chicken). What I like here is the approach. Sethi modernizes the whole arrangement through the prism of e-dating. More to the point, imagine if you went through match.com but had your mother set up the account. Times being what they are, they meet for a picnic (aww!) at a reservoir that has dried up (oof!!). One could hope that in this awkward state, that conversation could spark things, but Ravi is socially awkward, apologizes over and over and succeeds at making things worse. The situation isn't helped much when they duck into her apartment and a shelter-in-place mandate leaves them stuck together. That's when her unwholesome habits of drinking, eating chicken and leaving her vibrator just laying on the sink in the bathroom reveal themselves. Of course, this union is just not going to happen, but the mandates of tradition as well as COVID leave them trapped. What is special is that Soni and Viswanathan develop such a beautiful chemistry together in their connection of disconnection that what rises from an otherwise familiar series of rom-com shenanigans blossoms into a movie that is really very sweet. Soni's Ravi is the larger role – a nervous-nelly who recognizes tradition and the blistering realities of the pandemic, but Viswanathan is very good too, she is not just a good actor, she's a very too re-actor. I love her in the reaction shots. When she isn't talking, she's listening, sizing up the moment. What happens in the film's third act felt a little less natural than what came before. There is a dramatic turn that I didn't necessarily find distraction, just kind of unnecessary. I won't give anything away but I'll just say that I might have preferred a more life-goes-on ending. But aside from that, this is a lovely film, sweet, charming and very modern.

It was a very authentic, informative look at the cultural practice of arranged marriage and the inexplicable process by which genuine feelings can develop. Its funny, serious, insightful and heartwarming. Yea

I like the general story, the actors and the overall gradual development of the relationship between the two primary characters. I would have liked to see even more affection between Ravi and Rita, a kiss at the end was missing and could have sealed the deal.

Fantastic movie. A rom-com that goes deeper and more heartfelt than other rom-coms, especially with the culture focus. Wonderful chemistry between Karan and Geraldine. This is a movie that people will tell their friends about in the same way "The Big Sick" became a must see/tell your friends about it movie.