Friday, April 6, 2018

Dough (2015)



Number Rolled: 18
Movie Name/Year: Dough (2015)
Tagline: Everyone wants a taste of the high life!
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Length: 94 minutes
Rating: TV-14
Production Companies: Docler Entertainment, Wolf & The Gang, Docler DProd, Dough Film, Viva Films
Producer: Geraldine East, Wolfgang Esenwein, György Gattyán, John Goldschmidt, Péter Bruno György, Ben Rimmer, András Somkuti
Director: John Goldschmidt
Writer: Jonathan Benson, Jez Freedman
Actors: Jonathan Pryce, Jerome Holder, Phil Davis, Ian Hart, Pauline Collins, Andrew Ellis, Malachi Kirby, Natasha Gordon, Melanie Freeman, Joel Beckett, Daniel Ben Zenou
Stunts: Levente Lezsak, Gyorgy Szanto

Blurb from Netflix: An aging Jewish baker sees his struggling business reach unexpected heights when he takes a chance on a young Muslim apprentice.


Selina’s Point of View:
I think this movie was perfect.

I was expecting something that leaned a lot more on drama than comedy. In theory, I thought it would be heavily racial – focusing on hate crimes between Jews and Muslims.

In practice, the film focused more on the similarities between the two religions. Their prayers, the hatred against them, and their realities. Furthermore, there was enough comedy throughout it that none of it seemed preachy or overbearing.  

Seeing both main characters side-by-side is very telling. You get to see how little difference there really is between people in the world – once you push through the hate.


Dough goes into the fact that there are both good and bad members of both religions. In the end, Dough really shows that it doesn’t matter what god someone prays to, either they’re ethical or they’re not.

“Race and religion is irrelevant, Mr. Cotton,” one of the characters said. “If you’re a dickhead, you’re a dickhead.”

I want that on a shirt. I’d wear the fuck out of it.

The writers, Jonathan Benson and Jez Freedman (The Funeral), are relatively inexperienced in the movie world – according to IMDb. That makes this film even more remarkable.

I’m left wanting so much more from the creators of Dough.


Cat’s Point of View:
I have to say that this movie wasn’t at all what I expected. To be fair, I really didn’t know what to expect. All the same, I was pleasantly surprised with how well I enjoyed it.

The beginning wasn’t my favorite part – aside from the humorous bit playing with British slang vs. American slang. (‘Pants’ doesn’t mean jeans or trousers in the UK, but what you wear under them.) It took me a bit to warm up to the story, but I was inevitably caught in its gravity and pulled into an enjoyable orbit.

I’m not entirely certain that my knee-jerk reaction to seeing Jonathan Pryce (Leatherheads, Bedtime Stories, Taboo) on the screen didn’t have something to do with my take on his character from Game of Thrones (2011-). ‘Oh look, the High Sparrow grew a beard!’ was something that did actually pop into my head; but then that sort of randomness can be expected.  That aside, I think he was a wonderful choice for this role and he delivered a poignant performance.


I enjoyed how the comedy was woven in with a light touch throughout the drama. There was a good balance throughout.

Jerome Holder (The Pick Up, The Sparticle Mystery, Mad to Be Normal) was a wonderful choice to play Ayyash. I love his smile! That wasn’t the only thing good about his role here, though.

All told, it’s a very endearing tale and speaks to the fact that hard work, open minds, and good food can build bridges between different cultures. Once you get past society’s stigmas for various groups, and just relate to people as people; it can make a community stronger.

I would have to say I’d have no problem recommending this movie, and might even be inclined to watch it again.


Languages
Speech Available: English
Subtitles Available: English

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 53%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 57%
Metascore - 44/100
Metacritic User Score – 8/10
IMDB Score – 6.2/10

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating5/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating3.5/5

Movie Trailer:

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