Crime
Long Bright River
Long Bright River is a fairly standard mystery thriller with a big theme at its core: choices. But its problematic content makes it a touch choice to watch.
Mir and Raj probably thought that their dad’s death via freak golf accident would be the most significant thing to happen to them that week. They were wrong.
But let’s back up a bit: With their father’s untimely demise, Mir and Raj Dar are the heirs apparent to DarCo, a mega conglomerate dealing in convenience stores, comedically large coffee cups, and other American essentials. While Mir dreams of one day taking over the CEO’s seat, Raj takes a more laid-back approach to extraordinary wealth: He indulges in sordid endeavor you can imagine.
But both believe that their futures rest in DarCo’s unblemished hands and rock-solid profit margins. After all, the story of DarCo seems to be the American dream to a tee. Mir and Raj’s father, a Pakistani immigrant, started his career behind the register of a convenience store, then climbed the corporate ladder to build his empire. DarCo’s success, the brothers believe, is the result of their dad’s business acumen, fair dealing and knack for knowing what his customers want.
But the company’s history isn’t as wholesome as it appears. When a stray golf ball leads to their father’s untimely demise, Mir and Raj discover that their family’s wealth is built on insurance fraud, tax evasion, drug deals, and potentially a murder here and there. Now that the head of DarCo is gone and there’s a power vacuum in his place, the FBI have swooped in, and the Dar brothers are at the top of their list to investigate.
With their luxurious lifestyle in pieces and several very shady characters on their tails, Mir and Raj have only one place to turn: the run-down convenience store that started it all. They’re going to start right where their father did, and they’re going to rebuild DarCo from the ground up. The right way this time.
Now, if only they can figure out how to operate a cash register.
Equal parts offbeat comedy and chaotic crime drama, Deli Boys isn’t afraid to push the boundaries of its genre. How many sitcoms can you name that open with a gunshot victim fleeing a corner store in his underwear?
To no one’s surprise, blending crime and lavish wealth into a half-hour comedy comes with some content issues. Blood flies with abandon and at unrealistically excessive levels. Raj’s lifestyle of sex, drugs and partying is put on full display (plus, there’s some implication of same-sex behavior). And it feels at times like foul language outweighs clean.
Mir and Raj also come from a Muslim family, though it’s clear by how they fumble through their father’s funeral service that they aren’t very devout. Islamic traditions are a recurring theme, usually referenced in a comedic context. For example, when Mir talks about delving into DarCo’s practices to “see how the sausage gets made,” Raj responds, “You know that’s haram, bro.”
Deli Boys strives to tell a story about immigrants from an immigrant perspective, which is admirable. What’s less admirable are its choices to do so through violence, drug use, language and sexuality, all without any particular message driving it at all.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
After their father’s sudden death, Mir and Raj Dar discover that their family’s company was built on shady business practices and decide to rebuild it from the ground up.
Multiple instances of strong violence occur, starting with the stylized title card, in which animated blood flies across a tile floor. Mir and Raj’s father is hit on the head with a golf ball, and blood spurts comedically from a wound on his head. The boys’ Aunt Lucky shoots a man in the head, covering Mir and Raj in blood as they stand by. However, the man turns out not to be dead, and he runs out of the store with a bag over his head and blood on his chest.
Lucky’s victim is shown in his underwear as he flees the convenience store. Raj wakes up in bed with several scantily clad men and women; no nudity is shown, but it’s fairly evident what went on previously. Mir lives with his girlfriend, who mocks her mother for thinking that they’re “living in sin.”
Raj smokes opioids out of a glass pipe. He takes out a marijuana joint to smoke with Mir, but he puts it away when their father arrives. He later tells Mir that he dropped acid into his eyes and had a vision telling him to go to the convenience store. Lucky shows the boys a block of cocaine hidden in a soup can, revealing that DarCo is in the business of drug trafficking. One of Raj’s friends is a shaman who concocts various “herbal remedies” for stress.
Mir and Raj’s father has a traditional Muslim funeral, and the guests are shown kneeling as they pray to Allah. Characters regularly reference and thank Allah. In Raj’s eulogy for his father, he gives “shouts to the gods in the infinite versions of earth.” Raj is also very interested in enlightenment and eastern relaxation techniques; he and his shaman friend have a whole room dedicated to meditation.
The f-word is used 17 times, while the s-word is used 12. God’s name is taken in vain nine times. “A–“ is used once.
Lauren Cook is serving as a 2021 summer intern for the Parenting and Youth department at Focus on the Family. She is studying film and screenwriting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. You can get her talking for hours about anything from Star Wars to her family to how Inception was the best movie of the 2010s. But more than anything, she’s passionate about showing how every form of art in some way reflects the Gospel. Coffee is a close second.
Long Bright River is a fairly standard mystery thriller with a big theme at its core: choices. But its problematic content makes it a touch choice to watch.
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