Overview: To improve its relations with Muslim countries, the United States government sends comedian Albert Brooks to south Asia to write a report on what makes followers of Islam laugh.

Let me summarize my opinion in one word: utter disappointment. OK, make it two words. I don’t know how an accomplished comedian/actor/director like Albert Brooks could have come up with a comedy so devoid of comedy. Scene after scene, just when you think the movie is going to deliver some laughs, it just doesn’t happen. There are a few good gags but they are too few and far in between.

I’m sure that on paper this movie sounded like a good idea. I don’t know where Albert went wrong. Maybe he didn’t have enough help with the script or maybe he ran out of money, but the movie, besides the lack of funny material, also comes across as unfinished, with several plot lines that lead nowhere. Most scenes were shot as if they were on a shoestring budget or done as an after-thought.

Priceless Scene: OK, this is a stretch to call it a scene, but when Senator Thompson, playing himself, asks Albert Brooks to go to the Muslim world to find what makes them laugh, because “as you know, this president has a good sense of humor”, the look on Albert Brook’s face is priceless, even if it lasts only 2 seconds.


Tags: movie, review, comedy, muslim, world, brooks