Greg We had recently seen, and enjoyed, "Appropriate Behavior", a movie also featuring the Persian community in the USA, so we thought we would give Shirin a look. The one star review from Dr Farhad Javidi was scathing, but I thought maybe he was just being too critical as you can be with movies purporting to involve your own culture. Other reviews were seriously glowing. And we enjoy rom-coms, so let's go! Well let me say, having just re-read Dr Javidi's review, that he was spot on. This is not a good movie. The script is poor, even inane. The titular Shirin is certainly attractive, highly educated and a capable writer, but inexplicably stupid. The apparently difficult, reclusive and cantankerous author Shirin goes to interview is warm generous and welcoming. Yes, we learn why she is not what we think but it is ridiculous. Shirin virtually moves in for several days (?) and they talk like old friends.The editing is strange too - jumping from one thing to another with scenes that are disconnected and too short. There is no proper logic to the narrative, and even the most willing suspension of disbelief will not convince you that the story has any legitimacy at all. The "romantic" walking and kissing scenes against beautiful backdrops and with sickly sweet music would not be out of place in Bold and Beautiful. Good grief!On the plus side (and hence 2 stars) the northern California coastline is spectacular, and some of the actors are half decent even as they deliver terribly under developed dialogue.This is very low grade stuff - Dr Javidi, I am sorry I ever doubted you.

Violet Weed Apparently the person who wrote the original review of this movie was Persian. He did not like this movie, but probably because the beautiful Persian woman falls in love with the WHITE GUY not the middle eastern guy. Silly doctor! This IS a chick flick, and I've got more news for you. WOMEN OUTNUMBER MEN in this world. FURTHERMORE we are SMARTER than men. We don't all go out to be doctors or lawyers or Indian chiefs (american indians, of course), but that is easily explained. WOMEN MADE society, NOT MEN. Men are like male lions, only needed to to breed to make more more of their species, and occasionally come in and help kill the bigger game animals. Otherwise the female lions do NOT NEED the male lion. Same thing with WOMEN. We don't need men, MEN need US. I loved this movie, it has a happy ending, even though it is built off a silly premise... that an Iranian-American woman would just fall in love with a guy she doesn't know diddlysquat about, but hey, as a woman I'm here to tell y'all that is 'the' definition of a chick-flick after all. They are always built on baloney scenarios. The worst part of this movie was the mother of the female lead, because she had obviously had a terrible face lift. I haven't seen eyebrows that high up on a forehead since I last had tea with the late Mary Kay.

Krystal Campos Despite my lack of love for chick flicks, and that is coming from a woman, I really enjoyed this film. Yes it is a chick flick but it shows life learning experiences and it's not your normal cliché COMPLETE happy ending. Putting two completely different cultures together is what made it interesting as well. There's so much to learn from Persian culture and seeing an American in a Persian setting can be comical. The actors were amazing. From Nazanin Boniadi to Riley Smith and Maz Jobrani who brings even more humor to the table along side Max Amini. They both did a good job of making their characters shine and make you laugh in almost every scene they are in. You can tell that they all worked together to bring the script to life. Overall, I found the storyline intriguing and the settings from northern California breath taking as well. I think that the film did a good job of keeping me drawn in like a good film should.

Dr. Farhad Javidi With a cast that includes Maz Jobrani, Max Amini, Marshall Manesh and Anita Khalatbari, I was expecting a Persian comedy, but the film "Shirin in Love" is, in fact, a romantic movie - a "chick flick" even. While the film's location, costumes and props were fine, its writing, directing and editing were terrible. The porno-style filming, soap opera-style acting, nonsensical still shots, disconnected scenes, stereotypical characters, weak plot and cheap humor are just a few of the film's shortcomings. The film's one bright spot is Nazanin Boniadi, who portrays Shirin. Even in a bad film you can spot a shining star. She certainly has a bright future. I don't understand why she decided to appear in this film, given her well-established career with feature roles in "Homeland," "Grey's Anatomy," and "How I Met Your Mother." The film did little to enhance the reputations of Maz Jobrani and Max Amini, and may even have hurt them.