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Deli Boys surprised me. Deli-ghtfully!
Comedy writing is hard, that's why this show is so delicious (OK, I'll stop.) The show's pilot opens with the camera focused on a deli similar to the one above and a nearly naked male running out and into the street wearing only white boxers and a brown paper bag over his head. (They had me at hello!) He oddly looks both ways though he can't see anything and exists the scene to his right when two other men exit the deli wearing green aprons with the deli's logo and name. The screen suddenly flashes "3 days earlier" and we're suddenly playing Power Ball instead of a scratcher.
Now, I need to get something out of the way here. I've got a thing for bearded, hairy chested, Indian men, and this show is movie-sized eye candy in that regard. Staring the handsome and funny and bearded! Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh as brothers and heirs to a deli franchise empire, the show was created and the pilot written by Abdullah Saeed who got his start as a music journalist which explains the great taste in music throughout the episodes.
This is not your Apu from the Simpsons, one dimensional and while funny, still a stereotype. Deli Boys flips the script both in terms of portraying Indian men and women, their culture, food and family loyalty, but also in the "men run the world" trope, serving up the patriarchy with the introduction of the brilliant Poorna Jagannathan as Lucky, the business partner of the boy's father and owner of the deli empire. Playing with the idea that Indian women over-mother the men in their families, Poorna can instantly surprise and delight with her no "dilly dallying" approach to Saeed's clever writing. Fresh, entertaining, captivating, and laugh out loud funny, I highly recommend the series, whose charm lies not just in its plot but also in its lively portrayal of everyday life and the close-knit community surrounding a local delicatessen. Each episode feels like a warm hug from an Aunt, who is also purposefully doing so with her back turned away from any exits.
(SPOILERS)
It turns out that Baba (Dad) is going mainstream by moving away from the deli franchise business and venturing into golf resorts. But Baba, played by the handsome (And hairy chested! When we see Baba laid out on a corner's table with no shirt and lifeless, I involuntarily state, "I'd still do him!") Iqbal Theba, goes Bye Bye Birdie within minutes, leaving the brothers as the assumed heirs vying for the CEO chair.
The deli isn't just the setting of the show, its heart. Deli Boys revolves around the lives of friends working there and the quirky customers that bring their own flavor to the mix. The deli is a character in and of itself, rich with stories.
The show isn't for the squeamish, the intro gives this away when the title "Deli Boys" is suddenly covered in blood, a wet mop slowly pulled across the signage in a vain attempt to clean it up. In the vein of superhero counter culture show "The Boys", death in Deli Boys is a gross business. But kinda funny.<shrug emoji>
Visually, Deli Boys stands out with its vibrant colors and inviting cinematography. I wonder if Tan France from Queer Eye is the reason that the colors seem to "just pop" and the wardrobe left me clutching my pearls and "simply dying" for every outfit Shaikh wears.
I hope you'll try the show out. It's a new spin on television comedy from a new perspective we haven't seen before and could only get from being such a diverse, ethnically rich nation (you xenophobic twats). Bon Appétite!
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