'Thoppil Joppan' is an entertaining watch with oodles of charm and good comic timing of the megastar making it interesting. But frankly this one is so full of lowbrow comedy that harps on the clichéd that it is not for audiences who have a sensitive nose for the 'marginalised'. 'Thoppil Joppan' is intended to be a light hearted laugh riot. This one is not to be pondered over. What works in favour of the movie is the 'achchayan' avatar of Mammootty which he does with exceptional ease.
In 'Thoppil Joppan', we have the story of a sweet hearted drunkard named Joppan (Mammootty). Like with drunkard heroes, the reason for the drinking binge is of course lost love. The back story is that of Joppan in love with Annie (Andrea Jeremiah) and his flight to amass a fortune to win her hand, asking him to wait for him. By the time he is back with a bagful, she is already engaged to another man. A heart broken Joppan thus embarks on a new drunken life.
This new life has a slew of drunken friends, kabaddi games, some social service, unsuccessful quest for a new girl and some mindless comedy. While some of the comic sequences are guffaw inducing, there are a lot of jarring ones like the hypocrisy one feels about the portrayal of the prospective drunken bride or the handicapped groom. Mammootty has been doing the middle aged bachelor roles in recent times with increasing frequency and and this one is an addition to the list. In this movie he does find his love in Dr. Maria (Mamta Mohandas) a bubbly girl who finds Joppan immensely attractive.
While basically the movie is about the havoc that love and alcohol plays in Joppan's life a few socially relevant themes are also brought into the narrative. As usual, every bad deed of the hero is valorised. Also the ideology governing the movie may feel outdated to some, with the hero centric narrative and comedy at the expense of others. This might not be an intelligent movie, but Mammootty has got amole space to exercise his remarkable comic timing. The movie's scribe Nishad Koya has provided amble scope for that.
Direction by Johny Anthony strives to be entertaining. Music aids the story. Performance of the rest of the cast is good, though they are all relegated to the backdrop. Even a demure, cotton saree clad Andrea and a bubbly Mamta don't have much to do expect aid the script in boosting the hero. Camera works and editing are all technically good.
'Thoppil Joppan' would work well for those who would enjoy humorous outings, however clichéd. This needs to be watched with your brains and sensitivity back at home. Watch the movie for Mammootty's comic timing and his achchayan avatar set within a pretty decent storyline.
