British Dir Gurinder Chadra's Blinded by the Light - Is so Bad it Should've be Seen

"Blinded by the Light" is so wrong for so many reasons.  The ingredients in this botched film are so  better than the combined cliched, interminable MTV video which ends up going nowhere.  Dir. Chadra (b. Kenya 1960) is a British film director whose film have dealt intelligently with issues pertinent to British women of Indian heritage.  The Pakistani women are delegated to abject, submissive subjects.  Sarfraz Manzoor (b Pakistan 1971) is a British journalist & doc. filmmaker whose semi-autobiographical book "Greetings from Bury Park" the film is based. The premise here is of a young Pakistani boy, Javed (Viveik Kalra) who immigrates to the UK with his family & the father's dreams for a better life doesn't start a fire but offers a spark for an uplifting coming of age story & family saga.  The Javed's father (Kalvinder Ghiri) plays the overbearing patriarch/martyr who forbids Javed & his sister from parties & social norms enjoyed by their peers. The father son uprising is not surprising nor their teary eyed conciliatory reckoning endearing.  The film is one overly long platitude that is cloying and pathetic.  Javed's dreams of becoming a writer which are spurned on by Springstein's music, a prof. who nurtures his potential and an aberrant, elderly neighbor.  The setting is in a banal urban town outside London; it ain't got nothing to offer.  Javed believes his ticket out from the town which ain't going nowhere is through his writing & education.  The film is ambitious in its political messaging.   The epoch of unrest is set in the UK '1986/7 under Thatcher with rising unemployment & racist xenophobia.  The protests & prejudices lack impact.  The father's ongoing quip to associate with the Jews because they're successful is a joke here somewhere.  Springstein's lyrics are plastered on screen ain't got nothing to say that isn't facetious rather than impactful.  Javed's  song & dance number with his girlfriend and on-lookers is gag inducing.  I liked the performance by Kalra although his omnipresence grew tiresome.  His friend Roops (Aaron Phagura) added welcomed relief.  Unfortunately, Javed's dad is a boorish stereotype and becomes a farcical figurehead.  Glory days - let this wearisome film pass you by.