Priyanka's Hollywood debut film Baywatch hits the theatres
Actress Priyanka Chopra's Hollywood debut film which released on Friday, "makes for a decent one-time watch. Priyanka is convincing as ruthless Victoria...," wrote India Today. "Unfunny... the film deserves to be drowned", wrote Hindustan Times. "Priyanka looks smokin' hot in this two-hour-long behind the scenes footage, masquerading as a film", wrote TOI. It was rated 2.5/5 (IT, TOI), 1/5 (HT).
Director:  Seth Gordon Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Priyanka ChopraRating: (2.5/5)Baywatch, the TV series, is best remembered not for its great content, but for Pamela Anderson's jiggling jugs as she runs on the beach in slo-mo wearing her iconic red swimsuit. In Baywatch, the film, too, the female lifeguards have little to do other than pander to the male gaze. Ladies, worry not, there are enough shots of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Zac Efron's abs to keep you distracted from the lack of a solid plot.Dwayne plays Mitch Buchanon (originally played by David Hasselhoff), the leader of the lifeguard squad consisting of Stephanie (Ilfenesh Hadera), CJ (Kelly Rohrbach, stepping into Pamela Anderson's shoes), Summer (Alexandra Daddario), Matt Brody (Zac Efron) and Ron (Jon Bass). For Mitch, being a lifeguard is not just about getting a tan and occasionally saving people from drowning, but about "saving the bay."They get their opportunity when the Huntley Club gets a new owner, Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra), and things start going awry. Drugs and dead bodies start showing up on the beach, and the lifeguards are convinced that Victoria is somehow involved.The characters in Baywatch are largely unidimensional - Mitch is tough but emotional, the female lifeguards are mainly eye-candy and Matt is the stereotype of the cocky buff dude. Zac's Matt, the washed out Olympic gold medallist, almost gets some depth, but then the writers change their mind. One minute, he talks about his rough childhood spent in various foster homes, the next minute, he is back to being the thick-as-a-brick butt of jokes.Priyanka plays an alter ego of her Dil Dhadakne Do character in Baywatch - a girl who loses the family business to her brother, despite having the acumen, so she decides to come to the "land of opportunity" and rise to the top, by hook or by crook. She is convincing as the ruthless Victoria, but in terms of screen time, it feels like an extended cameo. Perhaps, some of the fault lies with the Indian Censor Board. Her "Easy, Britney" portion (from the trailer), for instance, is not in the final cut.Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron are as good as they can be in a film with a wafer-thin plot. Dwayne's deadpan delivery of a different emasculating insult directed at Zac's character every time ("One Direction," "High School Musical," "Bieber"...you get the gist) evokes some laughter. Jon Bass has his hilarious moments - when he sings Katy Perry's Roar in the shower and when he owns the dance floor.Baywatch, the film, has been remodelled as a comedy with far too many penis jokes, most of which are flaccid (pun intended). What does impress, however, is the cinematography. Visually, Baywatch looks great, with beautiful shots of the lifeguards diving into the crystalline water.David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson have somewhat confusing cameos just for the sake of it; they play the same characters as they did in the original. So Mitch 1 shares screen space with Mitch 2...you get it.If you're looking for a no-brainer with lots of eye-candy and low-intellect jokes, Baywatch makes for a decent one-time watch.