Mixed Kebab

9/15/2012

**A closeted Antwerp man's juggling of his tradition-minded Turkish family's expectations and a best friend-turned-boyfriend propel "Mixed Kebab." Belgian writer-helmer Guy Lee Thys' film recalls "My Beautiful Laundrette" in its busy agenda of seriocomic culture-clashing issues, even if the authorial wit here isn't quite as sharp. Risking over-contrivance at times, the whole is nonetheless crowd-pleasing stuff that stands to do particularly well at gay fests, where it should pick up steam toward healthy offshore home-format and possible limited theatrical sales.** Starting things off a little too on-the-nose, the pic's protag (Cem Akkanat) introduces himself via voiceover: "I'm Ibrahim, I'm Turkish. I'm Bram, I'm Belgian. I am a Muslim … and I'm gay." Fortunately, things get less glib f