[2] Ashish (Saamer Usmani), an Indo-Canadian aspiring writer living in the Scarborough district of Toronto, is torn between a desire to move downtown to pursue his career dreams and his sense of obligation to reconnect with his estranged father Vijay (Bernard White) after the older man is diagnosed with Parkinson's.
[3] In an interview with the Canada Media Fund, Wala cited Good Will Hunting as an inspiration for Shook, hoping to present Scarborough in a similar manner as the former film depicted Boston.
[4] Pat Mullen of That Shelf wrote that "Shook tours through the neighbourhoods of Toronto, observing these relationships as they play out in noodle shops, coffee houses, bars, trendy cocktail joints, and house parties.
Shook sometimes struggles in scripting the dialogue, though, as some exchanges are a bit on the nose, particularly regarding the racial dynamics at play.
At the same time, this observation comes from a white critic's perspective and echoes points that Ash and company hammer home: it's impossible to know life through another's eyes.