This is a pretty neat little movie. It stars Albert Brooks as himself, who embarks on a fictional project headed by the US Government to figure out what makes the muslims laugh. If anything, it is a social satire on the [ignorant] perception of muslim culture in the Western world. Or perhaps, the scriptwriter truly was unaware of the stereotypes s/he was writing up. Either way, this movie is funny.
It’s hard to categorize the humour here. Yes, the movie is funny – but at the same time it felt somewhat schizophrenic. In the beginning of the film, the laughs consist of situational comedies: funny situations that one encounters in every day life. Plausible and witty. The latter half of the film, however, has a completely different approach. Its as if it was a different scriptwriter that took care of that last portion of the movie. The comedy is less intelligent, along the lines of slapstick. It works, but it was kind of sad to see the intelligence of the humour dwindle as the movie progressed.
The quick ending especially surprised me. Somehow they go from being in the middle of an unfolding story to a complete conclusion in 3 minutes. A rushed ending? Who knows. There are also bits which were menial (Al Jazeera.) Was it necessary to remind the audience that this plot was supposed to be mildly realistic? In any case, this is a movie that is definitively worth the rental.
This is one film I wanted to see in theatres. Unfortunately, it never made it to the cinemas over here in Ottawa, Canada. I’m sure something along the lines of “Brainless Action Flick #42423” took its place.
PS. Having done standup, I can also appreciate with Brooks when he encounters a dead audience.