Triple threat comedian Albert Brooks is at it again - this time trying to cash in on the volatile world under the shadow of terrorism. The result can be humorous, but often off the mark.
Brooks plays himself, a Hollywood comedian looking for his latest schtik. When he receives a letter from the US State Department asking for his help, he’s intrigued. Apparently the government wants him to head up a committee to find out what makes the Muslims laugh, as a new tactic for combating potential terrorism. Lured by the promise of the Freedom medal and international fame, Brooks takes the job and flies with two agents (Lynch and Tenney) to India. Their mission: to interview people in India and Pakistan, to uncover what is funny to them, and then write a 500-page report.
Perhaps cultural-related, Brooks has trouble getting people to laugh. As a result, he hires an assistant, Maya (Sheth) to help him write the report, and she gives him some good advice. Nobody knows who he is, except that he’s in that “fish” cartoon. Brooks decides to give the first standup comedy performance in Delhi. Little does he know that his performance will soon trigger an international crisis.
OK, we get it. It’s a comedy and the subject matter is timely. But racial and cultural parodies are tricky. Brook’s humor can be low-brow sometimes and other times more subtle, but it can also quite funny. For instance, when he receives the government letter, his first reaction is, “Boy, are they going to come get me because I searched for ‘terrorism’ once, online?” Given the current brouhaha concerning the Feds over Google’s search records, the line resonates. The constant jokes about outsourcing (an operator at a remote call center in Delhi: “Hello, this is the White House, how may I direct your call?”) and the fascination and ignorance about American culture are quite accurate as well. Over all, though, I think Brooks misses the mark on making this a great satire.
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Article comments
1 - Ty Pennington
I agree, the script was the worst part of this movie. I would have liked to have seen Mel Brooks write this script, not Albert Brooks.