This Hindi movie is a pretty straightforward slice-of-life story that tries to give a modern look at what it's like to be a single, professional gay man. It dives into how he understands who he is, the chances he missed out on, and the personal choices he’s made along the way. The director used three parallel timelines to tell the story, which honestly didn't make much sense to me. While the core idea was actually pretty interesting, I really feel like this would have worked way better as a short film considering the point it was trying to make. Still, it wasn't a bad watch. The plot centers on Rachit, a city professional, and his friend Shikhar as they hang out for an evening. Rachit is a polished, urban guy, while Shikhar has more of a "small-town" rustic vibe, and you can really see the contrast between them when they talk. As the night goes on, Rachit starts thinking back to some old memories from a long time ago. He remembers being an intern after college in ...
Mason runs a podcast about love. Relationships and settling down while also running a match making business for queer personnel, a welcome change from the plethora of apps available. He has been married to Jarod for a few years , who has been very supportive of the business but of late Jarod feels that his work is more important for Mason thereby completely ignoring the dynamics and love and importance of their own relationship, which is kind of ironical since he runs a relationship expert podcast. Over the duration of 6 episodes, Mason struggles to find a work-life balance is threatening to taint his budding love empire beyond repair. We meet new clients every episode while we also see his dynamics and support via his best friend Ben, who himself is going through and off and on relationship with a hot guy and has body positivity issues. We also meet the girl who works with Mason and a new barista friend that Ben and Mason make over the course of time. Their antics and advice add humor and depth to the narrative. Together, they navigate a world where love is rarely perfect, but always worth fighting for. When Jarod cannot take anymore, they even go for relationship counseling, but Mason, who supposedly knows everything about love eventually is unable to save his own marriage.
Settle Down offers a refreshing take on the complexities of relationships, exploring themes like anxiety, commitment issues, and unconventional love. Each episode weaves together Mason’s personal journey with compelling client stories, exploring the highs and lows of contemporary queer love. Thankfully, the show doesn't make things soppy. Instead, it is very relatable, you laugh with what you see and you even find comfort in some of these scenes. No relationship is perfect and no individual is perfect. It all needs constant work and you can never take your partner for granted. The demise of many relationships is often a result of poor communication, and I think Settle Down tackles that perfectly. The fact that the show is created by POC, it is nice to see a mixed representation of communities in the show. The show does what many other series fail to do by capturing the push and pull of what it means to be ambitious and still be accountable to others. Kudos to the makers and the director who also plays the lead Mason. Great acting by not just him but everyone else in the casting. Not only the visuals are very good quality production, the locations, the outfits, the vibe and thoughtful creation of each character really made every single person stand out in their own way, corresponding with the whole creation. I thoroughly enjoyed this show and we can really use series like this that try and mirror the real challenges that we all face in our day to day lives without giving us stress about it. It's refreshing to see a show that balances humor, heart, and authentic representation so effortlessly. (7.5/10)
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