Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World

Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World

In an inspired cinematic premise, especially in these times, Albert Brooks plays himself as a comedian asked to find out what makes a large portion of the world laugh. Of course, execution of this concept leaves a bit to be desired, but it does have its fairly funny moments, especially in the opening moments, when Brooks aspires to be the lead in a remake of "Harvey." He fails to impress the director (Penny Marshall) with his desire to be "the new Jimmy Stewart," and Marshall's phony, "I liked your work in 'The In-Laws'" doesn't help his ego, either. At home, he receives a letter from the State Department asking for him to be part of a special commission deigned to found out what Muslims construe as comedy. He goes to Washington DC, meets former Tennessee senator Fred Dalton Thompson (TV's "Law & Order"), and agrees to travel to India and Pakistan to see what makes the population laugh (despite his assignment to write a 500-page report on the topic). He leaves his lovely wife, Amy Ryan ("Capote," 'War of the Worlds") and cute-as-a-button daughter, Laura (Emma Lockhart, "Batman Begins") for a month's adventure - not for money, but for the opportunity to be awarded the Medal of Freedom ("the nice one - with the colored ribbon"). Brooks makes the point some might bring up that India is basically a Hindi country, although over 100 million Muslims reside there (also, it's doubtful Brooks, as a Jew, would have been welcome in some of the more militant Middle Eastern countries). Anyway, Brooks soon begins his patented celebrity whining on the flight to New Dehli, as he and his two State Department escorts, Stuart (John Carroll Lynch, "Gothika") and Mark (Jon Tenney, TV's "The Closer") are forced to fly economy class, and are then stuck in a rundown office. During these interior office scenes, Brooks keeps passing a roomful of phone operators ("There are two spin cycles on that machine," "Welcome to the William Morris Agency," "This is the White House, how may I direct your call") in another funny bit. After hiring a lovely Indian woman, Maya (Sheetal Sheth), Brooks begins asking people on the street what makes them laugh. He is given answers from "I don't know," to "I don't speak English and please don't touch me," to a long and involved joke about being happy and laughing. Not garnering anything from this effort, Brooks decides to put on a comedy concert for about 300 Indians. This segment is pretty funny, as well, as few in the audience understand the comedian's humor (he tells a lame Halloween "Gandhi" joke, does a really bad ventriloquist act and the old "changing the improve" bit) and have little or no reaction to it. Later, he sneaks into Pakistan and does the same routine for a group of stoned "budding comedians" who do not speak English (it's a huge success), accidentally starts an armed conflict between the two countries and is offered a part as a Hebrew man who moves into a mostly Muslim apartment complex in the inaugural situation comedy from al-Jazeera, "That Darn Jew." The bottom line of this movie is that Muslims really don't laugh a whole lot, especially if the jokes are not funny (I guess that could be said of most anyone)and they do not get the subject. It could have been even more biting and daring, but I suppose Brooks (who wrote and directed, as well) didn't want to rock the boat too much. I've liked most of Brooks' work (he was great in "Broadcast News" and deserved the Oscar; and "Defending Your Life," "Lost In America" and "Real Life" were terrific films), and while some jokes fall pretty flat here (as does the weak subplot of Maya and her Iranian boyfriend), this is still pretty decent work. Yeah, I would have liked to have seen him do his stand-up in Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt or even Saudi Arabia, but I understand his reasoning (sort of). Plus, I laughed more often than not, so, as a comedy, it did its job, at least in my opinion.

LOOKING FOR COMEDY IN THE Muslim WORLD is a thinking man's comedy. If you're of the 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN or DATE MOVIE crowd, please avoid this film and spare us your "It just ...sucks" review. If you're an Albert Brooks fan, you most certainly will enjoy his deadpan delivery and hyper-worried state that we came to enjoy during DEFENDING YOUR LIFE (I suspect this is why he was also cast as the father's voice in FINDING NEMO). But enough about Brooks. Let's see what the movie's about. Looking For Comedy opens with Brooks arriving for a casting call at Penny Marshall's office (It's noteworthy to mention that Albert Brooks plays Albert Brooks and Penny Marshall plays Penny Marshall). Everyone seems to only recognize Brooks as "that guy who played that fish in Finding Nemo." His career is grudgingly winding down. But upon returning home a letter from the government appears in the mail. He is summoned to Washington by a panel of Senators to do a research project for them ("Our first choice, quite frankly, wasn't available" they tell him when Brooks asks 'Why me?') And his job? Travel to India and Pakistan and find out what makes Muslims laugh. Oh. "And you have to write a 500-page report on it." "500 pages? I don't think I've ever written anything that long," Brooks protests. But he accepts the assignment and travels with two government men as his entourage and support crew. Once in India they bumble through getting an office and a secretary named Maya (the stunningly pretty Sheetal Sheth). Now the hard work begins. Either people won't talk to him or give him off the wall answers or give no answer at all. So Brooks decides to put on a comedy show at a local gymnasium only to have that fall flat, too. To add insult to injury, war bells are ringing between Pakistan and India, bells that Brooks doesn't help with by sneaking across the border into Pakistan one night in order to meet up with some future comedian hopefuls. The thing that makes this film so funny is that it doesn't try that hard. It just is. Brooks' normal paranoia fits perfectly with the script and makes us laugh time and again at his overzealous fears. Also is the fact that it shows the complete ineptness of government in trying to understand another culture by sending someone to another country who has no knowledge of such a job. And they send him to India! Although there are a lot of Muslims there, it is mainly a Hindu country. An Arab nation may have been a better choice but obviously the government higher-ups failed to do their own research before sending in an even-less-informed Brooks. Now THAT is subtle humor. If you "don't get that", you should avoid seeing this flick. But if you enjoy that kind of subtlety, give Looking For Comedy a try. It's a modern day and cerebral blast!

If you have ever been to India or intimately know peoples of the Indian subcontinent you should enjoy this movie. Mr Brooks has an interesting idea in this film which is not quite as developed as it could be. However, recently having visited Delhi and Agra and flying to Delhi on a plane that was like "a Greyhound bus to India". I and an Indian friend throughly enjoyed this film. There are great scenes of Delhi...street scenes showing the chaos and confusion,like vehicles on the roads, including that green and yellow 3 wheeled motorized rickshaw which we ventured on, cows and an occasional elephant in the street...and various historic Muslim and Hindu monuments. We laughed and laughed. It was silly, fun and nostalgic for us and great entertainment for a rainy Saturday evening.

The comments on this board prove Albert Brooks point precisely, "there's no such thing as a world wide sense of humor". He explains in the movie that he is being sent to Pakistan ( a Muslim country) and to India ( which is primarily a Hindu country with a huge Muslim minority population). BUT THAT'S THE POINT! One of the things that Brook's is trying to say is that American's aren't sure who anybody is outside of our own sphere. Fred Thompson in the movie even says "You find out what makes the Hindu's laugh and we'll consider this a success". What I don't see pointed out, is that the plot of the movie is Pakistan and India. The fact that the government that sends him has trouble getting him in to Pakistan is part of the plot itself. This movie is one of the most understated and original comedys in the last ten years.

I saw this at Cinema Sundays at the Charles in Baltimore. The auditorium was full and there were about 300 people in the theater. I think the two hosts who had previewed the movie yesterday were surprised at the audience's reaction. Both remarked at how different it was to watch it with a crowd compared to just the two of them at the preview screening. The audience liked it a lot, me included. I had not expected to like it -- but I laughed and laughed. The thing is, it's subtle. There are people who don't "get" the movie -- criticizing it because he's trying to tell American jokes to Indian audiences when that's the humor of it -- he's doing stuff, like schtick with a ventriloquist's dummy drinking water (when it's supposed to be the *ventriloquist* who drinks the water) that only someone who's seen the standard ventriloquist act would understand -- he's poking fun at himself and Americans and if you don't get that the whole thing seems stupider than it is. The whole thing with the Indian audience had me in stitches. Anyway, the audience reaction was positive, and when the moderator started downplaying the screenplay for not having a good "act 3" the audience did not seem sympathetic -- when one of the audience said that she thought too many people were over-intellectualizing it, she got some nice applause -- I think the moderator felt kind of defensive because we (or the vocal people anyway) did not buy his analysis, and because we liked the film more than he did. One thing the moderator said that I did agree with was that this film was like Parker and Stone's "World Police," except that film did everything over the top and "Looking for Comedy" was understated. I think, first, that this film was a much better and subtler statement, and secondly agree that this film is very "under the top." So I liked the film, and gave it a 9. Plus - I have to say - Sheetal Sheth is a complete pleasure to watch. Those wondering why it was filmed in India instead of a country that is more usually regarded as a "Muslim country" may need to look no further than the fact that Sheetal Sheth is of Indian descent -- he could only cast her as his guide/secretary if the film took place in India. Works for me!

I saw this film at the Dubai Film Festival today, and... well... hm. The film starts off quite promising, as Brooks makes fun of his fading stardom and not-terribly-well-received roles. (Although Penny Marshall isn't all that great in her scene, Brooks carries it well enough.) His portrayal of the U.S.'s rather pathetic efforts to communicate to the "Muslim World" (and more on this in a moment) is also nicely thought out. And the sense that he's heading for disaster is well played. But... Okay, here's the thing: yes, he's going to the "Muslim World." In this movie, that means India. True, there are some 150 million Indian Muslims, but ... what the heck? They're definitely not perceived to be the threat that, say, Arabs are. The irony of this was that I watched this in Dubai, probably the most film-friendly Arab country (at least as far as wanting foreigners to film there - there's a vibrant Arab film industry in Egypt, for example, but that's another post). So why didn't Brooks take this to, say, Dubai? It's unknowable. As it is, he spends all of his film in India, doing comedy to, among others, Sikhs, Hindus, and, oh yea, some Muslims. (In the one scene where Muslims are identified as such - Pakistanis - some of them are carrying guns! On the other hand, they _are_ totally stoned, so I guess it's not all stereotypes.) There are some amusing moments once he's in India but the film drags as badly as the nicely portrayed Delhi traffic. There are some amusing characters. For example, his Indian assistant, played by Sheetal Sheth (an Indian-American actress) - is charming, while the two U.S. embassy flacks are also well acted - but it doesn't add up to much. Overall, it felt long and poorly plotted, with a quick, "let's-shove-it-off-a-cliff"-style ending that didn't answer anything. Oh, and the Muslim world? It's still looking for comedy.

One of his best satires in years, this script allows Albert Brooks to re-live his early career as a stand-up comic. If you've ever heard his surreal albums or seen him in concert, you'll enjoy the time capsule quality of this movie. What makes this film special, apart from the belly laughs it provides, is the honesty of its context. Brooks has grounded his humor in a world we recognize, where humor is not simply zany-stupid, but laced with some unavoidable realities. Yes, the U.S. is often clueless when dealing with the rest of world, almost blind to the obvious (one scene in particular scores a huge laugh demonstrating this). This succinct movie says more than any 500-page report commissioned by the State Department. And Brooks says it with skill, wit, and most of all, heart. The jokes and insights are intertwined deftly, making it impossible to discuss the movie's politics without giving away some big laughs. In its own subtle way, this movie has as much political courage as "Syriana" or "The Constant Gardener" -- but without the sanctimony.

I really enjoyed this Albert Brooks film. I especially label it an "Albert Brooks film" because he's so different and his humor so different that if you don't know what you are in for, you can be very disappointed. He is somewhat unique in that his humor is low-key, deadpan-delivery and full of sarcasm. I love his sarcasm, so the guy makes me laugh. Many others watch a film like this and say, "What's funny? This is not a comedy; it stinks." Since I am familiar with Brooks' style and laugh at his delivery and self-deprecating and insulting humor, I knew what I was in for with this film. However, I knew this could be a "bomb," too, like a few other of his films....but it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise: it was far better than I anticipated. Brooks plays himself in the film and pokes fun not only at himself and his non-famous career but also at government bureaucracy. In this film he is an over-the-hill unemployed comedian who is asked to help our country, the United States, with Muslim relations by finding out what makes Muslims laugh. By making people laugh more, perhaps it would ease tensions. Brooks is told he will receive the Medal Of Freedom for his efforts, which include a 500-page report on his findings! He isn't thrilled about that last part, but he does have a good attitude about his scheduled month-long trip to India and Pakistan. Without giving anything away, I thought that what happened on this trip was very funny. Brooks - and the reaction of people around him - just cracked me up. It also was a pleasure to enjoy the supporting cast, led by a very likable, attractive Indian actress by the name of Sheetal Sheth. Overall, highly recommended but know who Brooks is and what he's about, or you'll be disappointed.

I saw this movie today at the Regal Theatre in Washington DC (with Fred Thompson, John Kerry and Paul Begala in the audience of this public-don't-have-to-be-important-to-go event). Also, Albert Brooks was on hand as well. I was definitely focused on the issue of it all taking place in India. However, what Mr. Brooks said when someone asked this is, plainly, he's not allowed to shoot in many middle east countries. He is a Jewish filmmaker and would certainly not be allowed in places like Saudia Arabia, Iran or Syria. He went on to say that he didn't want to film in Eqypt or Morocco because they were too touristy (I would argue slightly with that, as there are normal towns in these countries). But he had some good points about using the environment he did. I thought this movie was funnier than most out there. It was when he was trying to be serious that frustrated me. Separating the man from the character, the character Albert Brooks came across as self-important and demanding at times. From complaining about not being in first class on the airplane to not getting a nice enough office, he came across the ultimate stereotype of an American. In a regular comedy this might have been funny, the ignorant American bit. But in a movie that us supposed to tear down stereotypes? It was distracting. But the movie was funny, and I recommend everyone seeing it. In and of itself it was funny, I just thought Mr. Brooks could have done a better job since he was trying to get a message across (as opposed to just making a funny movie).