Rock the Kasbah

This movie will be horrible for people who expect every movie to be like Independence Day, The Martian and Star Wars. This isn't a block buster. It's a simple movie about a simple story with a raw cut feel. There are no fiery explosions. It's an interesting story with characters that are cliché but real cliché.

Bill Murray gave a good performance and it wasn't phoned in. I enjoyed it. It felt to me like a 2nd (and better) attempt at a Lost in Translation type story. My guess is that most people will want to catch this on Netflix or On-Demand, which is fine. There is no particular reason to see this on the big screen, but it is a decent film to watch.

Have you heard of 'AFGHAN IDOL' ? No? What about "The most hated woman in Afghanistan"? Her true name is Setara Hussainzada. Why is she the most hated woman in Afghanistan? Because she dared to sing and dance in the TV final of her country's version of American Idol. During her sedate routine, her headscarf slipped, showing her hair and outraging the war-torn country's religious fundamentalists. This film is inspired by this. And it deserves more than 5.5 stars. Leem Lubany is very good as Salima, the character inspired by Setara. Bill Murray is very good as her manager, Richie Lanz. Bruce Willis as Bombay Brian, Kate Hudson as Merci and Zooey Deschanel as Ronnie, are efficient too. Great music, great film.

It's a better song than it is a movie.

Bill Murray gives a decent performance as a talent manager stuck in Afghanistan when he discovers the talent of a young woman and literately changes the face of Afghan Television. The film is somewhat based on a real life event about a woman who song on a poplar TV show in her country when this sort of thing is not allowed.

You'd think having Murray in a movie would automatic make it Hysterical. After all, I've seen films were this man makes a cameo and it's the funnest moment in the movie.

Definitely not the case with Rock the Kasbah. It has great jokes and fun moments but they are far too distant from one another to be effective in the movie. What's worse is that they try to use comedy to send a message, and it fails miserably, to the point of embarrassment of how an American film just mismanaged someone else's culture.

Should I even mention that Bruce Willis and Kate Hudson are in it? Really does not matter cause they really did nothing in the movie, which is a shame cause I don't recall if Willis and Murray ever did a film together. The bigger shame is actually Zooey Deschanel, who I was hoping would mesh well with Murray's comic chops to make some entertaining screen time, but it did not.

Bill Murray's Bill Murray and he did good with what he was given, but what he was given was poor, making the movie mediocre.

We went to Rock the Kasbah for an early screening. Neither of us had heard much of anything about it, but I enjoy Bill Murray's work and it seemed to have a strong cast.

But the first half of the film seemed different than the second half. Actors seemed wasted in their roles. I just wasn't quite sure what to make of the movie.

The film is about an over-the-hill music producer, Richie Lanz, scrambling to make a last go of the industry. He brings his last big talent (Zooey D) overseas as an entertainer for the troops, where he will be sure to collect some big money. However, she promptly decides she doesn't want to be there, leaves, and Bill Murray is left to fend for himself sans papers or money. That is how the movie opens. After that we get Scott Caan, Bruce Willis and Kate Hudson appearing in varying roles as Bill Murray finds his way in Afghanistan.

Kate Hudson may or may not be intentionally faking an accent, but tries hard to pull off sex appeal as a hooker for hire. I don't see her appeal. Bruce Willis is the necessary, and typical gun for hire. Zooey comes and goes, and sadly never comes back. Scott Caan is the necessary character who comes and goes to provide necessary funds to Lanz to survive. I didn't find him funny and was a plot device only to basically say the first half of the film is rendered irrelevant.

It's just weak compared to other Bill Murray fare and each character seems to be a cameo, until the end becomes just another old-music-producer-finds-a-talent. It doesn't seem to push many boundaries, which is ironic since the film is about pushing boundaries in Afghanistan.

It was okay, but nothing more and nothing less.

ROCK THE KASBAH? Heard of this one? No, you probably haven't, and there are insidious reasons why, political and social. Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson, Zoey Deschanel. Think maybe there would be some pub behind it? What's going on? The movie has been panned by critics, ignored by Hollywood mainstream and news channel outlets. What gives? It's not a great movie, but it is a good movie, with a timely plot, and a message. AND, HERE IS WHERE THE POLITICALLY AND SOCIALLY INCORRECT ASPECTS ENTER. I am ashamed to have the term 'liberal' associated with the movie industry. Ashamed of CNN and MSNBC for not picking up this theme and rolling with it. THIS MOVIE PORTRAYS Islam, THE MIDDLE EAST, AND OPPRESSION OF WOMEN IN BOTH ARENAS ACCURATELY AND THE PICTURE IS UGLY. This is why you haven't seen or heard an ad, watched the trailer, or viewed coverage by any major news outlet. Watch this film. I won't spoil it, but it centers on the true story of a female singer who simply wanted to appear on the Afghan equivalent of American Idol.WATCH THIS FILM, and wonder why the suppression has occurred.. It is a film about peace, ultimately, yet apparently is too hot and controversial for any support from Hollywood, and too accurate yet politically incorrect for mainstream news to explore. SHAME ON THE MASS MEDIA!