“The Buddha Of Suburbia” is a sloppy coming of age story.

“The Buddha Of Suburbia” is a 4 part loosely plotted story set in England in the 1970’s that revolves around a half Indian man (Karim) who tries to deal with his troublesome family and figure out a career for himself.

As ambitious as the story may sound, the movie is a poorly structured mess. Instead of creating a deep character study, the screenwriters opt to make a stereotypical coming of age story that is more concerned with throwing in references to 70’s music, politics, sexual experimentation, drugs, etc. The only saving grace is the cast, namely Naveen Andrews (of “Lost” fame), Brenda Blethyn, and Roshan Seth from “Gandhi.” Skip this and watch a REAL coming of age tale like “American Graffiti” or “Stand By Me.”

“The Buddha Of Suburbia” is presented in a low quality 4:3 fullscreen with a mumble filled Dolby Digital Stereo audio track.

Extras:

* Trailers for “Shakespeare Retold,” “The Kumars At No. 42” and a BBC America ad.

* David Bowie music video for the song “Buddha Of Suburbia.”

* Commentary by Roger Michell and Hanif Kureishi. First and foremost, the track is a hassle to listen to as the sound of the film is not muted. Thus, you have the commentary and the film’s dialogue playing at the same time. Secondly, the track is not worth you time. Sure, there are tidbits about the story being personal to Hanif and information about adapting the book, shooting locations, etc. but it’s tiring to listen to (especially since the movie is 4 long hours).