Housefull 5 Review
There are films that make no sense and still make you laugh. Housefull 5 tries really hard to be one of those. But somewhere between trying to be clever and pretending to be chaotic, it forgets to be either. What you get instead is a mega-budget mess that’s full of stars but short on soul — like a wedding with too many celebrities and no decent food.
This time, the franchise takes you on a cruise, throws in a dead body, four Jollys (yes, again), and gives you not one, but two endings. It sounds mad fun on paper. But in reality? The film tries to juggle two endings, but ends up juggling confusion instead.
The Laughs That Went Missing
You would expect a Housefull film to at least get the comedy right. But in the first 30 minutes alone, around 90% of the jokes thud harder than a missed dance step at a sangeet. Akshay manages one proper laugh with a cheeky dig at Malaika. Beyond that, the humour is all noise, no punch.
Nargis Fakhri’s entry is a rare highlight — her unexpected Nepalese accent brings some surprise comedy. But then Akshay walks in, quite literally, and kills the moment. His over-the-top “funny walk” is baffling. It is not once, but twice. Ritesh and Abhishek stroll in normally, and then comes Akki walking like he has got a personal vendetta against smooth entrances. It’s not quirky—it’s just weird.
The movie keeps throwing jokes, hoping something will stick. A random parrot fight? Check. Slapstick scenes that even cartoons would reject? Also check. But nothing really lands. By the time intermission hits, the audience is just… tired.
Too Many Stars, Not Enough Roles
You have got a cast that includes Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Nana Patekar, and still no one is allowed to shine. Sanjay and Jackie’s interrogation scene feels like an outtake that should have stayed cut. Nana tries to save the ship, but even he looks like he is reading lines he does not believe in. Sonam Bajwa tries to fit in among the big names, and it shows. She throws in a Punjabi line to leave a mark, but blink and you will miss it. Chitrangda and Soundarya Sharma? If you figure out why they are even in this film, let the rest of us know.
Even the multiple Jolly intros fall flat. Ritesh walks in, fine. Abhishek walks in, sure. And then Akshay? That same awkward walk again. Twice in one day, and twice the disappointment.
Two Endings, One Big Question: Why?
Here is where the movie tries to be clever: it gives you Housefull 5A and 5B, with different endings. You walk into one version, someone else sees another. Sure, it builds curiosity. But outside of this gimmick, the plot is thinner than the script that Chitrangda and Soundarya Sharma were given, if there even was one. So, it is the only thing keeping audiences from walking out — the urge to find out “who did it.” But it is a trap. The answers come, but the payoff? Meh. Like watching a 7-hour football game, only for the winning goal to be an own goal.
Final Verdict: A Franchise on Life Support
Housefull 5 is like an overhyped wedding sangeet — glitzy, chaotic, and full of familiar faces doing embarrassing things for no reason. The laughs are few, the logic left the chat early, and even the soundtrack (except “Laal Pari”) is plain forgettable. What should have been a riot ends up being a lesson in how not to use a star cast. Big budget, multiple endings, and still, the only thing this film murders is time.
Save your money. Or better yet, rewatch Housefull 1 — at least that movie had effort.
