Housefull 5 Movie Review: Akshay Kumar leads another slapstick comedy that confuses absurdity with entertainment

Housefull 5 review

Some films make you laugh. Others make you think. And then there’s ‘Housefull 5,’ a film that makes you question your life choices.

At 165 minutes, it’s not so much a film as it is an endurance test. Somewhere between the opening credits and the monkey slap, you begin to wonder: who exactly asked for this? Certainly not the audience, though the makers seem convinced that we’re all begging for more recycled gags and slapstick so stale, it might have been left out since 2010.

But let’s give credit where it’s due—only a supremely confident team would greenlight this script, round up some of the biggest names in the industry, and still manage to deliver something this monumentally tone-deaf. You almost have to admire the audacity.

A yacht, three Jollys and two murderers

Set on a luxury yacht (because what better setting for rich people problems and logic-defying chaos?), the plot revolves around a billionaire named Ranjeet (Ranjeet) celebrating his 100th birthday. Naturally, he dies.

Enter the will, and the bombshell: Ranjeet’s fortune is to go to Jolly, the mysterious son from his first wife. But then the ship is invaded by not one, not two, but three Jollys (Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, and Riteish Deshmukh), each claiming to be the heir. If that’s not enough chaos for your brain, there’s also a serial killer onboard.

Cue a string of murders—the doctor, the captain, and a board of director—and it’s up to Interpol officer Dagdu (Nana Patekar) to crack the case. If this sounds confusing, you’re not alone. The script is basically a WhatsApp forward gone rogue.

When gags go from goofy to groan-worthy

And then, there’s the humour. A popat dies in a vacuum cleaner. A woman’s skirt rises and falls like a malfunctioning elevator thanks to Akshay Kumar’s gun’s side-to-side movement. Akshay Kumar indulges in a slap fest with two monkeys. There’s a scene where everyone gets sucked into a giant fan during the climax, and by then, honestly, you’re rooting for the fan.

It’s all played for laughs, but the only thing funny here is the idea that someone thought this would still work in 2025. While slapstick isn’t a crime—and ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ still holds up remarkably well—'Housefull 5’ runs on fumes. And worse, it assumes the audience will cheerfully accept whatever is flung their way.

Some try, most sleepwalk

To be fair, a few actors seem to be having fun—or at least pretending convincingly. Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, and Johnny Lever bring some sense of rhythm to the chaos, slipping into their roles with the ease of men who know exactly what kind of film they’ve signed up for. But the rest of the ensemble? Well, let’s just say if boredom were an Olympic sport, Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff would walk away with gold.

Their expressions range from mildly confused to completely uninterested, and by the end, you're left wondering whether they actually read the script or just showed up for the cruise. Maybe anyone would if the cheque was big enough.

A comedy crisis in disguise

There is every probability that while Sajid Nadiadwala may walk away with another blockbuster to his name, comedy as a genre walks away battered and bruised. There are moments that make you think the film is tipping its hat to the brilliance of Kundan Shah’s cult classic ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro.’ But then Abhishek Bachchan starts snoring through a scene, Johnny Lever sits naked in a ship pantry thinking it’s a sauna, Shreyas Talpade’s character discovers two switches during the power cut, and you realise—no, this isn’t a tribute.

It’s just noise. In the end, ‘Housefull 5’ isn’t just a terrible film; it’s a reminder that in Bollywood, sometimes the joke really is on us.

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Chitrangda Singh, Fardeen Khan, Jackie Shroff, Sanjay Dutt, and Nana Patekar

Director: Tarun Mansukhani

Rating: 1.5/5 (‘Housefull 5’ is playing in theatres)