via Cineco Bahrain - Cineco Group
This season of Eid Al-Adha featured not one but four Egyptian movies that hit the theatres, from the highest-grossing Beit El Ruby and Tamer Hosny’s alleged first superhero movie TAG to Mr X, led by husband-and-wife Ahmed Fahmy and Hannah El Zahed. But we’re here to discuss Amir Karara’s latest release, El Bo3bo3. Is it worth the watch? Let’s break it down.
The Plot
via Almasry Alyoum
El Bo3bo3 takes viewers on a single-day journey with Sultan, played by Karara, a veteran criminal just released from prison, as he undertakes the process of handing over antiquities to a merchant. To his surprise, two children he was unaware of fathering show up unannounced at his doorstep in the middle of his mission.
We hear you; it sounds like a burned-out storyline that we’ve seen in numerous movies. However, we must give credit to the cast and crew for pulling it off with a rather entertaining re-imagination of the plot, and here’s how:
Family Friendly
via El Balad TV
Unlike two competing Eid movies, Mr X and TAG, this was a fun-to-watch movie for all ages. It’s your go-to for a good laugh with family members without fearing any sexual references being bluntly thrown in there. Don’t get us wrong; puns and wordplay are still subtly placed between the lines for adults without being too vulgar for the young.
Action Scenes
via El Aosboa
Given the film’s overall theme as an action-comedy, the minds behind the movie needed to find the right balance of incorporating proper action without being too violent or gory. And they clearly understood the assignment.
The fight scenes are somewhat cartoonish, which helps with the comedic aspect of it all. Our only concern was that the scenes were played throughout the movie, which was a little too much at times, but the proper choreography helped us overlook that.
Character Chemistry
via Al Nahar Egypt
You’d think we’re about to applaud the impeccable chemistry between co-stars Karara and Yasmine Sabry. Well, we won’t be doing that. Instead, we loved the dynamics between Karara and his sidekick Mohamed Abdelrahman and the latter’s scenes with Sabry. Major kudos also go to Mohamed Anwar’s progress from breaking out of Masrah Masr’s comedic sense and giving us a much better performance this year with his roles in Mr X and El Bo3bo3.
Breaking Cliches
via El Balad TV
The movie’s plot is not new, especially for Yasmine Sabry, who played almost the same character in Mohamed Imam’s Lelyt Hana W Sorour a couple of years ago. However, we must give it to the creators for not sticking to the girl-falls-in-love-with-hero trope for a change. You read that right; this movie lacks the unnecessary love storyline!
We should say that the film fell into a single trope trap, however. You’d probably agree that the ending was uncalled for if you’ve seen it. We must get over the idea that our hero must have a happy ending. It could’ve just ended before the last five minutes, if you know what we mean.
Star of the Show
via Instagram
Casting a child star for such a big role is extremely risky. No matter how talented they are, the delivery is never fully satisfying to viewers, let alone in a comedy with numerous punchlines expected to be pulled off by a fresh face under twelve! However, Jan Ramez stole the spotlight. His charisma, acting skills, and above all, adorable lisp gave us a hilarious performance by a star-in-the-making!
Self-Awareness
via Nabd
Lastly, the movie is extremely self-aware. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, unlike others. It knows very well that it’s a comedy aimed at entertainment. Hence, its dramatic scenes are minimal and feed the narrative without trying to inject morals or trigger uncalled-for emotions from viewers to sympathise with its characters.
