''Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World'' is a 2005 film starring and directed by

Albert Brooks Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein ; July 22, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 1987's '' Broadcast News'' and was widely praised for his performance as a ...

. It was shown at the

Dubai International Film Festival The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF, ar, مهرجان دبي السينمائي الدولي) is the leading film festival in the Arab region. The 12th edition of DIFF took place from December 9 – 16, 2015. In 2018, the DIFF announc ...

Synopsis

, a

Jewish-American American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora J ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...

, is asked by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

government to travel to

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

to find out "what makes Muslims laugh." References are made to Brooks's earlier films, including ''

Finding Nemo ''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton with co-direction by Lee Unkrich, the screenplay was w ...

'', '' Lost In America'' and '' Defending Your Life'', along with his earlier stand-up comedy material. Upon reaching India, Brooks begins interviewing

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and gathering material for the 500-page essay expected of him from the government. He is aided by two agents (who actually help very little) and an Indian woman named Maya (

Sheetal Sheth Sheetal Sheth (born June 24, 1976 ) is an American actress, author, producer, and activist. She starred opposite Albert Brooks in his film ''Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World''. She debuted to rave reviews in the films ''ABCD'' and ''Amer ...

), who was hired as his assistant. Brooks' interviews and a failed stand-up performance begin to attract the attention of the Indian government, who fear he is a spy of some sort. Unable to get a visa, Brooks illegally enters Pakistan for four hours to interview several fledgling Pakistani comedians, the Indian government becomes even more paranoid, increasing border control. This action causes alarm to Pakistan, who responds with security measures of their own. As tension between the countries grows, the American government orders Brooks to leave the country and return to America. It is later said that the tension between Pakistan and India is resolved after they learn that everything was Brooks' fault. It is also revealed that Maya sent what was written of the report to Washington, but it received no recognition.

Cast

as Himself *

Amy Ryan Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski, known professionally as Amy Ryan, is an American actress of stage and screen. A graduate of New York's High School of Performing Arts, she is an Academy Award nominee and two-time Tony Award nominee. Ryan began her pro ...

as Emily *

as Maya *

Fred Dalton Thompson Freddie Dalton Thompson (August 19, 1942 – November 1, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, lobbyist, columnist, actor, and radio personality. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Tennessee fr ...

as Himself *

Penny Marshall Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, director and producer. She is known for her role as ...

as Herself * Marco Khan as Pakistani Comedian

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. According to

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, it holds a 42% rating based on one hundred-nine reviews. The site's consensus states: "Although the premise seems ripe for laughs, Albert Brooks isn't ruthless or clever enough to pull it off." It opened in

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unit ...

(in only 161 theatres). However, some critics appreciated Brooks's sly satire. As

Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin (; born April 24, 1976) is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for '' The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.

wrote in ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...

'', "''Looking'' succeeds smashingly both as a comedy and as a savvy deconstruction of comedy. It's equally concerned with getting laughs and exploring how culture and language affect the way people process humor."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Looking For Comedy In The Muslim World 2005 films 2005 comedy films American comedy films American political satire films Films directed by Albert Brooks Warner Independent Pictures films Shangri-La Entertainment films Films with screenplays by Albert Brooks Films scored by Michael Giacchino Islamic comedy and humor Films about actors Films about Islam 2000s English-language films 2000s American films

Synopsis

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links