Movies that were targeted at the youth and assembled by debutantes before and behind the camera, rarely made an impression earlier and were assured contestants for the worst movies for the year. But it looks like one doesn't have to view such movies with as much dread as before. Recent entries in this category like Kaalaatpadai and Aasai Aasaiyaai managed to present things in an entertaining fashion inspite of the familiar stories and Anbu continues the trend.

Anbu(Bala) is the son of Karuppaiya(Vijayakumar), the leader of a caste based political party. But Anbu falls in love with Veena(Deepu) who belongs to a different caste. When Karuppaiya comes to know of this, he packs Anbu off on a foreign trip and threatens Veena's mother(Rekha) with dire consequences if the romance continues. So Veena ends up marrying Aditya(Aditya) but Anbu is not ready to give her up yet.

While Anbu is no classic, it does not contain much that we dislike and that is more than what can be said about many of the other movies releasing today. Both its hero and heroine are presentable and give good performances considering this is their first movie. Its comedy is quite funny, it maintains a good pace and it is not cheap or vulgar. Sentiments are rarely overdone and not many scenes are over-the-top. Sure it has a predictable story with a familiar sequences and lacks any real surprises in the proceedings. But it is successful in keeping us in our seats without being bored, for its running time.

The romance movies quickly and smoothly. It is believably low-key though it is also low on the cuteness factor (Bala's revelation after taking Deepu out on his birthday is the only scene that could fall into this category). Thankfully it is always clean and doesn't take the cheap route. But the second half fails to maintain the pace and lags at several places. The efforts to induce tension don't always work and instead, feel needless stretching. The characters themselves take a beating in these portions. Aditya's character, which could have been real strong (remember Ajay Devgan in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam?) is weak and ineffective. Deepu doesn't earn any points either with her silence about her past affair inspite of Aditya's revelation about his past and his attitude. The climax is predictable.

Rarely does Vadivelu make me laugh with a separate comedy track but this movie counts as one of those rare occassions. Many of his sequences(like his phone conversation with a man who has been asking for him for awhile) are very funny. His sequences are intermingled with the romance during the first half and share equal credit for helping the first half move entertainingly and fast. He seems to have taken a leaf out of Vivek's book and slides in some social comments too. His conversation about America's demands on Iraq and his analogies are both funny and clever.

Bala seems quite well-rounded than most other new heroes with a good physique, strong voice and adequate acting chops. Deepu too acquits herself quite well. But Aditya is unimpressive in what could have been a strong character. Vijayakumar and Rekha do their roles as the parents. Songs are good to listen to though their picturization is rather unimaginative.