MovieChat Forums > Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2006) Discussion > read this before posting about this movi...

read this before posting about this movie

posted 18 years ago by bleveque
39 replies | jump to latest

I am shocked at the ignorant people who are actually taking this movie at face value.

The movie has nothing to do with "Finding Comedy..." It is about the ineptitude of the U.S. Gov in handling multicultural issues. Al Brooks is actually making fun of himself, it is called self-deprecating humor. Demonstrating why he would be the worst person to take on a task like this, not to mention what a bad idea it is in the 1st place. There is a lot more going on in the movie; Hollywood, outsourcing, Jewish-Muslim issues, Al Jezzera, foreign policy, interfaith relationships, bureaucracy etc...

Ok that said...

The downside is, Al Brooks is not funny. Yes, I know he is not supposed to be funny in the movie (he does a great job of not being funny), but the movie still should have been funny. More of stuff with the state dept guys and the Indian & Pakistani politicians would have helped. I really felt that they were going somewhere with the girls boyfriend wanting to do comedy, but they just dropped it.

To rebuke some of the more stupid things posted in other threads,

1. People upset because they went to India
India is not a Muslim county, correct. You and I know that. That is the irony of the movie. In movie The U.S. Government knows that but, they justify it by saying, there’s a lot of Muslims there. (i.e. close enough for government work)

2. The idea that the movie is trying to say that every one group will find the same things funny.
Once again who in the movie is saying that? That is who the movie is poking fun at.

3. Islam is a religion of hate
Religion is what you personaly choose it be. Don't give me a bunch of crap about the koran, bible, torrah or what your dog tells you in your sleep.

[–] VinnyM27 17 years ago

Well sort of on and sort of off topic, I originally wasn't sure what this movie was. I vaguely remember hearing a lot about it before it came out and I assumed it was more of a documentary (I admit, I'm not super familar wtih Brooks work even though I know him from other movies and as a personality). And maybe that's becuase it was not advertised well but just had a lot of buzz. However after seeing the movie, there shouldn't be any confusion over it being a movie, not a documentary in any way, shapr or form.

The movie is not very offensive but it delecatiely plays with a lot of themes(including celebrity, most amusingly). It's very dry humour and while Brooks himself doesn't get the big laughs, he sets up some excellent material. Very well written.

[–] Isaac5855 17 years ago

I think Albert Brooks is a very funny man, but not in this movie.

[–] mod_poet_god 17 years ago

this movie is a waste of my life and my time. god it feels like a rash under my skin i can't scratch. just awful. that indian chick's hot, that's it.

[–] Isaac5855 17 years ago

I agree...Maya was the only thing that made this movie worth sitting through.

[–] rdsla 17 years ago

I agree that this movie was very mediocre. I like Brooks' humor and watched this all the way through to see what there was (only fell asleep a couple of times). They tried, but it just didn't make it. Just not enough story, plot, or jokes to make a movie about.
And the whole "making a Muslim movie in India" just didn't make sense. There are dozens of all-Muslim countries. Yes I saw the rationale, they couldn't film in those countries so went to India. But it just missed the mark, as others said. Sorry Al. I still like your other funny movies.

[–] quigley_brown-1 17 years ago

How can people say it was 'painful' to watch? It was just silly...and Maya was a cutie.

[–] ten-often 9 years ago

This was not supposed to be funny. It was only supposed to be humorous while making dramatic points. It wasn't painful for me because I didn't go into it expecting it to be funny. I think that is the mistake many people make with statements such as this movie. Al Brooks is not funny, this is true. That is because he has never tried to be funny. Al Brooks has always successfully been humorously ironic about serious things.

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Backseat Producers can't simply enjoy movies. They nitpick & complain about every imperfection.

[–] Blueghost 8 years ago

by bleveque » Mon Oct 16 2006 00:04:05
IMDb member since October 2005
I am shocked at the ignorant people who are actually taking this movie at face value.

The movie has nothing to do with "Finding Comedy..." It is about the ineptitude of the U.S. Gov in handling multicultural issues.

It has nothing to do with any of that. The film addresses why there appears to be little comedy from a US Jewish perspective coming from Islamic nations.

It's also a test for the director to see if he could complete a project.

The film is the usual piece of crap coming from Brooks, who's touted as a cerebral genius, but in actuality even US intelligentsia don't like his films. Me included.

[–] Druff (1527) 3 months ago

"3. Islam is a religion of hate"

You said it, not me.

I haven't seen the movie yet, I've been a casual semi fan of Albert Brooks forever, but I only just got around to finally seeing Defending Your Life a couple days ago and now I'm on a bit of a kick, looking up other movies he's directed but I haven't seen. This is on the list, not a high priority. Not even sure I'll ever watch it tbh.

But to reiterate:

Islam is indeed a religion of hate.