There’s something desperate in this Manchester-set indie comedy about the British Muslim dating scene; the cast are lumbered with a bafflingly lame and leaden script and plodding direction that wouldn’t pass muster for TV in a thousand years. In a gallery of not-funny cartoon characters, signposted on screen by their dating-website handles, two people are supposed to stand out. Danny Ashok plays Shahid, a shy, nice guy who is divorced (a real no-no in his community) and looking for love. He has a day job selling computer printers, but is supposed to be a standup comic – a very rash fictional invention at the very best of times – competing for the imaginary TV show Muslims With Talent. Asmara Gabrielle plays Fatimah, a hardworking GP who is lonely and struggling with an anger-management problem – which is as unfunny and unconvincing as everything else in the film. It’s nice to see Nina Wadia here in the small role of Shahid’s mum, but her talent is wasted, and I suspect that applies to everyone else in the cast.
