Johnny Johnny Yes Appa movie review highlights: A slapstick comedy that goes around in circles

Scriptwriter Joji Thomas' Vellimoonga worked best because at its core was a conniving, scheming protagonist that kept the audience guessing. For

Johnny Johnny Yes Appa

, he seems to have chosen a similar character but the story in the first half has not quite been that rewarding.

Kunchacko Boban stars as the sly Johnny, who like the film's title suggests starts off small by stealing a rupee from his father and letting his brother to take the blame in his childhood. However with time, he becomes a thief, while successfully fooling those around him with his charade as the perfect gentleman.

The movie's characters, be it Johnny's brothers Peter and Philip played by Tini Tom and Sharaf U Dheen or his love interest essayed by Anu Sithara, are caricaturish but not cliched. However the same is not the case of the script, which hardly goes anywhere in the first half.

There are a few laughs and director G Marthandan has relied on slapstick comedy for those to work. The interval has Johnny almost being caught by a youngster. How will this affect the story forward?