The Miseducation of Bindu

All Bindu needs to test out of high school is $53.75—by seventh period. Then maybe she can convince her mom to move the family back to India and leave her annoying new American stepdad behind in the US. One of the winning titles of Mark and Jay Duplass’ Campaign to find America’s Next Generation of Indie Filmmakers.

I usually enjoy high-school teen comedies but The MisEducation of Bindu, for me, felt like a sore miss. It has all the ingredients of a teen comedy drama but somewhere something is off. Whether it is the unfitting Indian touch or the poor performances by the leading lady (it felt like she was auditioning for the role while the camera was rolling) or the high level of awkwardness even by teenage standards, I'm not sure. I also don't think I laughed during the 90 minutes because some of the sequences are massively cringeworthy and really not needed in my opinion. All in all, The MisEducation of Bindu tries hard but does not pass muster. **Grade D**. (Reviewed during its Australian premiere at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).)