Touch of Pink (2003)

36% of critics liked it
(61 reviews)
62% of users liked it
(5,886 ratings)

Canadian writer/director Ian Iqbal Rashid makes his feature film debut with the romantic comedy Touch of Pink. Jimi Mistry plays Alim, an young gay Ismali-Canadian living in a fashionable section of London. He has an active fantasy life involving Kyle MacLachlan, who appears as the charming ghost of… More Canadian writer/director Ian Iqbal Rashid makes his feature film debut with the romantic comedy Touch of Pink. Jimi Mistry plays Alim, an young gay Ismali-Canadian living in a fashionable section of London. He has an active fantasy life involving Kyle MacLachlan, who appears as the charming ghost of Cary Grant. Alim also has an active social life in the real world with his actual boyfriend Giles (Kristen Holden-Ried). His life of leisure is interrupted when his mother Nuru (Suleka Mathew) arrives in town unexpectedly from Toronto. She also has a secret plan to take him back with her to Canada so he can settle down and find a nice Muslim girl to marry. Touch of Pink premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: Ian Iqbal Rashid
Written By: Ian Iqbal Rashid
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Gay & Lesbian, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy

In Theaters: Jul 16, 2004 Wide
On DVD: Jan 11, 2005
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

Critic Reviews

Steve Murray, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There are two crucial bits of miscasting, one bad, one good, both distracting.
Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle
Its plot is hackneyed and banal.
Tom Long, Detroit News
An uncomfortable jumble of Harvey, Bend It Like Beckham and The Birdcage.
John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press
Much of the problem with Touch of Pink rests with Mistry, whose nice guy appeal registers even less than it did in his previous starring vehicles, The Guru and The Mystic Masseur.
Jen Chaney, Washington Post
MacLachlan's strong jaw line and his valiant attempt to act so very Cary aren't enough to save this film.
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
The movie pretty much collapses upon the fulcrum of Kyle MacLachlan's Cary Grant.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
A mildly amusing gay comedy, with the only novel point of Cary Grant serving as a spiritual mentor; the rest is formula.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...more self-congratulatory than genuinely edgy, and the best reason to see it is MacLachlan's tidy impersonation.
Staci Layne Wilson, Fantastica Daily
The spirit of Cary Grant is a silly but welcome addition to an already chock-full plot plate.
David Cornelius, eFilmCritic.com
[It's] a blend of trite plot points and obnoxious characters, held together by the notion that you should be watching something else instead.
James Plath, Reel.com
Hollywood meets Bollywood in this clever and charmingly inclusive homage to Doris Day, Cary Grant, and 1950s bedroom farces.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
Rashid struggles with tone and pacing ... but his characters are so vivid and the romance so sweet that we forgive him.
Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
A cute, ineffectual film that breaks absolutely no new ground but enjoys itself as it skips down the familiar paths.
Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
Kyle MacLachlan's robust impersonation of Cary Grant is good for a laugh, but its overuse is just one of the crimes against this joyless cross-cultural gay romance.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
A too-familiar tale.
Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star
A gay romantic comedy so coyly inoffensive that it becomes offensive in its inoffensiveness.

Read all 16 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

Enjoyable time filler, Sue Mathew is great fun as the mother.
Rico Z

What do you get when you're gay AND you come from a culture that ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT ALLOW IT?!?!? You create an imaginary friend who's a lot like a classic movie star from Hollywood's golden age so that he may give you advice as to what to do. This movie is soooo cute.… More
What do you get when you're gay AND you come from a culture that ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT ALLOW IT?!?!? You create an imaginary friend who's a lot like a classic movie star from Hollywood's golden age so that he may give you advice as to what to do. This movie is soooo cute. It's basically the same storyline as Bend It Like Beckham, except there's no soccer and the main character in this movie is a gay man who likes playing with a different sort of balls. Alim must hide the fact that he's gay to his mother, a stereotypically conservative Indian woman who is coming to visit him. The comedy that ensues is somewhat predictable but also very funny and endearing. Kyle MacLachlan is superb as the Spirit of Cary Grant and is probably one of his better performances in recent memory! Except for his role in Showgirls, of course! Kidding. Watch this movie. It'll make you laugh-- or at least chuckle and relax.
Leo L

A BEAUTIFUL MOVIE!!! My sister was watching this, and I stopped and sat down to watch. LOVED IT!!