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Craig Younkin
Movie Review
Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
By Lee Tistaert Published January 24, 2006
US Release: January 20, 2006
Directed by: Albert Brooks
Starring: Albert Brooks
PG-13
Running Time: 98 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $887,416
Directed by: Albert Brooks
Starring: Albert Brooks
PG-13
Running Time: 98 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $887,416
C-
119 of 177
The movie is about a man who isn?t very funny, which creates a big problem, and quite the ironic situation; it?s almost as if we?re desperately looking for comedy within the comedy we?re watching.
Albert Brooks is a talented comedian. He won me over most with Mother (B), which was a commentary about senior citizens ? or in particular, mothers. The Muse (B-) wasn?t bad, but it wasn?t one of his better comedies; Brooks went for more of a lightweight, cute experience about getting inspiration. He tends to comment on ?something? in each of his films; Broadcast News (B) was about, well, exactly that, and Defending Your Life (B) was about the possible Afterlife.
In Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World, what he tries to comment on is self-explanatory: He?s a writer hired by the government to go to Muslim countries and write a 500-page report on comedy. This is a great setup for someone of his stature and wit, but judging from the trailer I feared that Brooks would merely go for just airy, intermittent chuckles. But what Brooks has here is even worse: The movie is about a man who isn?t very funny, which creates a big problem, and quite the ironic situation for the viewer; it?s almost as if we?re desperately looking for comedy within the comedy we?re watching. Sitting in the nearly deserted theater, it was hard not to notice the awkward silence that engulfed the room throughout the entire running time. Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World starts on a dead note and rarely ever rises from the grave. This is not only depressing material to be in the presence of, but it?s terribly embarrassing for someone like Brooks who can do a hell of a lot better.
The movie has a little bit of The Muse's tone to it in terms of Brooks' ?insider? slant. He even stars as himself and people refer to him in regards to his current career. There are jabs made about a recent flop of his, and he also pokes fun at a few other movies. With The Muse, he got some of his Hollywood buddies to come in and do cameos and just riff; it was a fun idea and worked for the most part. But Brooks doesn?t have anything like that here outside of merely mentioning other movies that are used as very cheap bait for punch lines.
It?s hard to believe while watching this movie how few jokes there are, and also how Brooks didn?t catch himself and do massive rewrites ? how can he not know that he is lacking here? Brooks? approach to finding out what Muslims find funny is by simply walking around and asking random people on the streets exactly that ? most of whom don?t have much of a response. This is like watching an amateur comedian on standup try to do one joke after another without an ?act? ? you just sit there awkwardly as they stumble through their routine. Brooks basically just has a standup routine worth about five or ten minutes of screen time. The concept is more of a standup routine, but the overall execution doesn?t even provide enough jokes to fulfill that time slot; I bet there?s good material to be found on this topic, but sadly we will never know.
For Albert Brooks fans, it?s easy to come out feeling as if you weren?t even there; it?s like looking forward to a movie and then getting something that was the opposite of what you expected ? you?re just dumfounded. Many talents tend to fall flat sooner or later, and Albert Brooks looks like he just found himself the one humiliating effort that will go down in the books.
In Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World, what he tries to comment on is self-explanatory: He?s a writer hired by the government to go to Muslim countries and write a 500-page report on comedy. This is a great setup for someone of his stature and wit, but judging from the trailer I feared that Brooks would merely go for just airy, intermittent chuckles. But what Brooks has here is even worse: The movie is about a man who isn?t very funny, which creates a big problem, and quite the ironic situation for the viewer; it?s almost as if we?re desperately looking for comedy within the comedy we?re watching. Sitting in the nearly deserted theater, it was hard not to notice the awkward silence that engulfed the room throughout the entire running time. Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World starts on a dead note and rarely ever rises from the grave. This is not only depressing material to be in the presence of, but it?s terribly embarrassing for someone like Brooks who can do a hell of a lot better.
The movie has a little bit of The Muse's tone to it in terms of Brooks' ?insider? slant. He even stars as himself and people refer to him in regards to his current career. There are jabs made about a recent flop of his, and he also pokes fun at a few other movies. With The Muse, he got some of his Hollywood buddies to come in and do cameos and just riff; it was a fun idea and worked for the most part. But Brooks doesn?t have anything like that here outside of merely mentioning other movies that are used as very cheap bait for punch lines.
It?s hard to believe while watching this movie how few jokes there are, and also how Brooks didn?t catch himself and do massive rewrites ? how can he not know that he is lacking here? Brooks? approach to finding out what Muslims find funny is by simply walking around and asking random people on the streets exactly that ? most of whom don?t have much of a response. This is like watching an amateur comedian on standup try to do one joke after another without an ?act? ? you just sit there awkwardly as they stumble through their routine. Brooks basically just has a standup routine worth about five or ten minutes of screen time. The concept is more of a standup routine, but the overall execution doesn?t even provide enough jokes to fulfill that time slot; I bet there?s good material to be found on this topic, but sadly we will never know.
For Albert Brooks fans, it?s easy to come out feeling as if you weren?t even there; it?s like looking forward to a movie and then getting something that was the opposite of what you expected ? you?re just dumfounded. Many talents tend to fall flat sooner or later, and Albert Brooks looks like he just found himself the one humiliating effort that will go down in the books.
Lee's Grade: C-
Ranked #119 of 177 between A Cock and Bull Story (#118) and Death of a President (#120) for 2006 movies.
Ranked #119 of 177 between A Cock and Bull Story (#118) and Death of a President (#120) for 2006 movies.
Lee's Overall Grading: 3025 graded movies
| A | 0.4% | |
| B | 30.0% | |
| C | 61.7% | |
| D | 8.0% | |
| F | 0.0% |
'Looking for Comedy...' Articles
- Craig's review C+
January 18, 2006 This is a seriously missed opportunity. Brooks gets the ball rolling but just never hits it out of the park. -- Craig Younkin
