Rock the Kasbah

source: Rock the Kasbah

For a movie with an interesting plot, and enough well known talents to have you assume the best, this movie seems to get lost in itself. The film starts off with a story that will make you want to know more and characters that you want to see grow in front of your own eyes. I was intrigued by all of this and was excited to see what would happen to all of these people. The story starts off well executed and with a simple yet surprisingly fun story. But somewhere around the halfway point, the movie does a U-turn. Taking back everything that it made you grow attached to. With the story, the characters and even the setting turning into something that doesn't quite click with all of it's own setup. I was left confused as to the reasoning behind the deeper motives of the main character. And I was also inclined to ask why this movie shook loose all of these characters that it spent time persuading you were going to be a bigger part. This movie had a great setup with some well thought out story telling, but by the end I was left not caring about what happened to who, or why they were there in the first place. And the only thing that I took was the message that they were trying to send about women's rights. That right there was the only thing that i could gather from it's shaky story telling, but even that seemed to be undermined by the protagonist's motives.

Have you heard of 'AFGHAN IDOL' ? No? What about "The most hated woman in Afghanistan"? Her true name is Setara Hussainzada. Why is she the most hated woman in Afghanistan? Because she dared to sing and dance in the TV final of her country's version of American Idol. During her sedate routine, her headscarf slipped, showing her hair and outraging the war-torn country's religious fundamentalists. This film is inspired by this. And it deserves more than 5.5 stars. Leem Lubany is very good as Salima, the character inspired by Setara. Bill Murray is very good as her manager, Richie Lanz. Bruce Willis as Bombay Brian, Kate Hudson as Merci and Zooey Deschanel as Ronnie, are efficient too. Great music, great film.

ROCK THE KASBAH (2015) ** Bill Murray, Leem Lubany, Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschanel, Scott Caan, Danny McBride, Arian Moayad, Fahim Fazli, Jona Khan. Misfire comedy with our boy Bill as a has been rock promoter up to his eyeballs in international intrigue as he attempts to comeback with a new performer en route to Afghanistan and instead winds up stranded with little opportunity until unlikely Lubany enters the picture as a native who has a golden voice (and a quick meal ticket for the greasy Murray having some fun in the process). Scribe Mitch Glazer and director Barry Levinson half-bake for a M*A*S*H like vibe despite the efforts of a blue-chip cast largely wasted. Disappointing to say the least but hey Bill makes the most of it.

A has-been rock manager from California stumbles upon a once-in-a-lifetime voice in a remote Afghan cave. Richie Lanz, dumped and stranded in war-torn Kabul by his last remaining client discovers Salima, a teenager with a beautiful voice and the dream of becoming the first woman to compete in Afghanistan's version of "American Idol." Richie partners with a savvy lady of the night, a pair of hard-partying war profiteers, and a hair-trigger mercenary. Braving dangerous cultural prejudices, Richie manages his new finding into becoming the Afghan star she has always wanted to be........... Apparently based loosely on fact, 'Rock The Kasbah' has all the makings of a classic movie. The cast is amazing on paper, the concept is amazing on paper, the situations the characters get themselves into seem hilarious on paper, but this is a film, and it just falls apart around another fantastic performance from Murray. The problem is the humour is all over the shop. One moment it's almost spoof like, then it's the darkest humour ever imaginable, and the final act, the writers forget to inject any humour at all. There is no moral to the story, the film consists of Murray going from one difficult situation to the next, and using his charm to get out of this situation. Along the way he finds this voice, and with this, the film is supposed to show the struggles with religion, apartheid, culture, and what is acceptable within people's beliefs. It's a dangerous subject to have as a comedy-drama, and here it just doesn't work, despite the best efforts from the cast, and having such a prolific director at the helm, it should have been a safe bet. On the plus side, despite having no reason to be in the film, Willis ain't been this good in sometime. His screen time is very little, but he has a wonderful presence, and his character is intimidating. For Murray fans though, he is wonderful, if you could see the film as a succession of sketches, rather than a story, he is hilarious and sympathetic in equal measure. It's a shame that at times he appears to be in a different film to everyone else. It's no surprise that the filmed bombed so hard when released, it's not aimed at a specific demographic, has a strange Three Kings feel to it, and the final scene of the film is more of a whimper than anything else, because the subject matter is nothing new, we see these people's struggles everyday on the news and in the media, we don't need a comedy about it. There is one scene where Murray sings 'Smoke On The Water' to a very bewildered looking audience. I know how they felt.....

I saw "Rock the Kasbah" starring Bill Murray-Aloha, Moonrise Kingdom; Zooey Deschanel-New Girl_tv, Almost Famous; Kate Hudson-Fool's Gold, Almost Famous and Bruce Willis-Moonrise Kingdom, the Die Hard movies. This movie showcases Bill Murray at his best, fast talking and acting just a little on the zany side. He plays a music talent agent that is down on his luck. He used to have a thriving career, with big name clients but is now handling clients out of his motel room. Zooey is his latest star and she gets her big break by going on a USO tour through Afghanistan to perform for our troops. Things go bad and Bill finds himself stranded, with no money or passport in a foreign land. That is when he meets Kate, a hooker with a plan and Bruce, a mercenary looking for a fast buck. That is also about the time Bill discovers a young Afghani girl that can really sing and so he wants to put her on the Afghanistan version of American Idol, Afghan Star. The only problem with that is with the native culture and their beliefs that women should not sing in public-the penalty is death. That is when Bill is at his best, fast talking, negotiating and acting a little crazy. There is also lots of good music. It's rated "R" for language, violence, drug use and sexual content-no nudity-and has a running time of 1 hour & 40 minutes. I don't think I would buy this on DVD but if you like Bill Murray, it would be a good rental.

Richie Lanz (Bill Murray) is a down-and-out music manager working out of a Van Nuys motel with his assistant Ronnie (Zooey Deschanel). He makes ends meet by conning money from gullible wannabes and booking bar mitzvah. They get recruited to an USO tour in Afganistan. The dangers freak out Ronnie and she runs away. Richie is befriended by irreverent amateur arms dealers Jake (Scott Caan) and Nick (Danny McBride). They take him to a club where he meets Miss Merci (Kate Hudson). Bombay Brian (Bruce Willis) arranged for Ronnie's departure and expects the other half of the money from Richie. Jake and Nick ropes Richie into a weapons run. With cab driver Riza as his translator, he finds his own Afghan Star. The start is fine. Bill Murray is great as this kind of lovable loser and Deschanel is adorably scared. There are a couple of awkward chuckles. Then it's a surprising parade of Hollywood stars. The laughs quickly disappear as the movie struggles with the clashing tones of sincerity and surreal comedy. Murray's wise-cracking only grinds the humor to a halt. This is a terribly flawed movie.

It's a better song than it is a movie. Bill Murray gives a decent performance as a talent manager stuck in Afghanistan when he discovers the talent of a young woman and literately changes the face of Afghan Television. The film is somewhat based on a real life event about a woman who song on a poplar TV show in her country when this sort of thing is not allowed. You'd think having Murray in a movie would automatic make it Hysterical. After all, I've seen films were this man makes a cameo and it's the funnest moment in the movie. Definitely not the case with Rock the Kasbah. It has great jokes and fun moments but they are far too distant from one another to be effective in the movie. What's worse is that they try to use comedy to send a message, and it fails miserably, to the point of embarrassment of how an American film just mismanaged someone else's culture. Should I even mention that Bruce Willis and Kate Hudson are in it? Really does not matter cause they really did nothing in the movie, which is a shame cause I don't recall if Willis and Murray ever did a film together. The bigger shame is actually Zooey Deschanel, who I was hoping would mesh well with Murray's comic chops to make some entertaining screen time, but it did not. Bill Murray's Bill Murray and he did good with what he was given, but what he was given was poor, making the movie mediocre.

'ROCK THE KASBAH': Four Stars (Out of Five) The new comedy flick starring Bill Murray; as a music manager, who finds an amazingly talented teenage female singer, in Afghanistan. The movie was directed by Barry Levinson (who also directed some amazing films in the 1980s; like 'RAIN MAN', 'GOOD MORNING Vietnam', 'DINER' and 'THE NATURAL') and it was written by Mitch Glazer (who also co-wrote 'SCROOGED' and the upcoming 'A VERY MURRAY Christmas'; also both starring Bill Murray). It's loosely based on the 2009 documentary film 'AFGHAN STAR', and it was dedicated to one of it's stars, Setara Hoseinzadah. The film costars Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschanel, Danny McBride, Scott Caan and Palestinian actress Leem Lubany. The movie is a lot better than it's box office, or critic ratings, might make it seem; especially if you love Bill Murray! Murray plays Richie Lanz; a has-been, and broke, music manager. He only has one client left, a singer named Ronnie (Deschanel). So when Richie hears about a paying gig, touring in Afghanistan and opening for big music names, he jumps at the chance to get his career going again. Once there, Ronnie gets scared; and abandons Richie, while stealing all of his money and passport. Richie gets desperate, in order to raise funds to get back home, so he decides to do a dangerous job; selling weapons in the middle of nowhere. While doing so, he discovers an amazing singing talent, named Salima (Lubany). The film is definitely funny, especially if you like Bill Murray, it also has some heart and a decent (uplifing) message. What I most like about the movie though, is that it feels like a classic 80s (or 90s) Bill Murray film. It's all him, and it's all him at his best! The story isn't that appealing, to mainstream audiences, but it is an interesting one, nonetheless. The supporting cast is all decent as well, especially Willis (who's a scene-stealer), and Levinson does a good job directing too. It's not a great film, but it is a surprisingly enjoyable one! Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/iHtyjLDJ1Ko

A washed up talent manager arrives in Kabul to do a tour but ends up discovering a talented Afghan singer and enters her in a singing competition. It's a comedy and keeps the tone throughout even though the background is serious. The flight to and arrival in Kabul is quite laugh out loud. Lots of culture clash and war humor about the conditions in Kabul. Zooey Deschanel as the singer and Taylor Kinney as a soldier deliver some funny lines. This is a Bill Murray role and he keeps the comic tone and a droll vibe going. Kate Hudson looks pretty if unlikely as the hooker with the heart of gold. The young Afghan singer played by a Palestinian actress is quite lovely and sings well. I don't understand the negativity. This is an insightful and very different comedy and a rare comic look into Afghanistan. The on location filming in Morocco is quite atmospheric. Worth a watch.