As a fish, Albert Brooks is funny. I think most movie-lovers would agree that 'Finding Nemo' is fantastic. As a human being, however, Albert Brooks is similar to his latest stint on the big screen, 'Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World': just okay. He is candid, sarcastic and makes looking confused an art form, but 'Looking for Comedy' takes a great subject and stretches it out far too long.
Add this to the fact that it looks like a Disney feature film but should have been a documentary, and a reasonable conclusion ensues: This movie was made to be rented. It isn't well done, but it's certainly not a bad experience.
For the most part, 'Looking for Comedy' comes out of the blocks strong, purposeful and armed with all the hilarious artillery a film like this can get, but there is a tangible point when members of the audience start glancing at their watches. Who cares what Brooks thinks is funny? He does, but Muslims certainly don't. It is exactly this that kills 'Looking for Comedy.' He just doesn't get it, and while this may be the point of the movie, it is still irritating.
Brooks writes, directs and stars in this film about a comedian who gets commissioned by the U.S. government to do a one-month study in India and Pakistan that will supposedly find out what makes people in that part of the world laugh. This is, of course, a study that will be utilized to improve international as well as domestic relations. Brooks, in this case, was not the man for the job. There are a thousand comedians more funny than he that could have used a month in India and Pakistan, but the point is that he wrote the movie.
If audience members go into 'Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World' expecting that comedy will in fact rear its head during this film, they may find themselves disappointed. Not entirely disappointed, but just enough to walk out feeling strongly that they should have waited the six months it will take for the movie to hit their local video store.
What this movie does right is give the audience enjoyable characters. Albert Brooks, while not very funny, is quite likable. So is his na??ve and eager assistant, Maya (Sheetal Sheth). The opening scene is a side-splitting take on show business, and there are many more throughout that if emulated, really could have taken this movie to much better places.
Brooks performs a stand-up comedy routine in India that takes too long but proves a valuable point: a comedian will be hard-pressed if he does not attempt to know his audience. Most of what Albert Brooks lacks is an open mind. He dresses like an Indian but simply cannot think like one, and while it would be impossible for him to actually see from the point of view of a Muslim in India, he doesn't observe them enough to even realize they have points of view different from his. Yet, he is daft and well-meaning, and that is funny.
It stops being funny when Brooks fails to realize that most of the time it is not the creative joke or the goofy impression that will make somebody laugh: it is the truths and oddities of life. It is the animal that can make a telephone call or playing a practical joke on your best friend.
With a touch more of intelligence, 'Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World' could have been wonderful. Instead, it will be a popular one to rent.
