Housefull 5 Movie Review – A Franchise That’s Now a Crude Joke on Itself

🎬 Introduction: A Tired Franchise Gasps for Laughs

Fifteen years since the first Housefull, and instead of evolving, the franchise has hit a new low. Directed by Tarun Mansukhani, Housefull 5 is an overstuffed, painfully unfunny mess that mistakes crudeness for comedy and volume for value. Starring Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, and Abhishek Bachchan, the film desperately tries to revive a formula that should have been retired long ago.

🛳️ Plot Summary: A Shipwreck in Slow Motion

Set aboard a luxury cruise, the film centers around a birthday party for a 100-year-old tycoon, Ranjeet Dobriyal, who mysteriously dies, leaving behind a fortune for someone named Jolly. Cue chaos: Akshay, Riteish, and Abhishek all claim to be the rightful heir. A murder follows, and everyone—including their girlfriends—is a suspect.

What might’ve been a fun murder-mystery instead becomes a tedious sequence of forced gags, plot dead-ends, and an ever-growing list of characters who serve little to no purpose.

🎭 Star Power Squandered: A Comedy of Errors

Despite a huge ensemble featuring Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Nana Patekar, Johnny Lever, and more, none manage to shine. Their appearances are random, their dialogues juvenile, and their comic timing completely wasted. The infamous “Choti bachchi ho kya” reference lands with a loud thud, symbolic of the film’s desperation to evoke nostalgia and internet humor.

Even the core trio—Akshay, Riteish, and Abhishek—seem out of sync. Their slapstick routines are more exhausting than amusing, and the characters lack any arc or relevance beyond being delivery machines for bad jokes.

👎 Crass Humor & Problematic Tropes: Where It All Falls Apart

The most troubling aspect of Housefull 5 is its unapologetically sexist writing. Women in the film exist solely for visual objectification, cringeworthy jokes, and to be the butt of inappropriate gags. Soundarya Sharma, Nargis Fakhri, Jacqueline Fernandez, and others are reduced to props in scenes that glorify lecherous stares and tasteless physical comedy.

Worse, these antics are backed by major stars like Akshay Kumar, who has publicly championed social causes, and Riteish Deshmukh, soon to play Shivaji. The disconnect between their off-screen personas and on-screen roles in this film is glaring and disappointing.

🎥 Direction & Writing: Flat, Forced, and Forgettable

Tarun Mansukhani’s direction lacks any rhythm or creative flair. The script, if one can call it that, is a haphazard collection of tired gags, juvenile twists, and two alternate endings that feel like an afterthought. The murder mystery angle is laughable, not in the way the makers intended.

The writing is where the film truly collapses. Instead of smart dialogue or situational comedy, we get low-effort punchlines, objectification, and lazy one-liners that feel written by someone who hasn’t updated their humor since 2005.

💭 Final Verdict: 1/5 – Crude, Clumsy, and Completely Avoidable

Housefull 5 is not just a bad comedy—it’s an insult to the genre itself. What once had some harmless slapstick appeal has now devolved into a tone-deaf, vulgar circus with zero charm or purpose.

The film doesn’t understand what comedy means in 2025. It’s stuck in a dated, patriarchal mindset, trying to sell sexist jokes and chaotic noise as family entertainment. If this is what’s considered “fun,” maybe it’s time the Housefull franchise shut its doors for good.