As heard in episode 192 of Cinema Crespodiso.

Comedian Albert Brooks has only directed seven feature length theatrical motion pictures during his decades-long career, and the most recent of these movie is “Looking For Comedy In The Muslim World,” released in 2005 in limited screens and to mixed reviews. Making far less than its budget at the box office, this comedy came and went without much of a blip on the old cultural radar, which means most likely you reading this now have yet to see this particular film. Obviously, I am here to tell you that this is exactly what you should do. The time is perfect to discover this little movie that went largely unnoticed but now just sits around waiting for someone to click on it.

In “Looking For Comedy In The Muslim World,” Brooks pretty much plays himself, albeit a version of himself that would be asked by the United States government to do something, anything, as opposed to real life, in which they probably wouldn’t ask him to do anything other than a couple of USO gigs. In this movie, the State Department deploys him to India with two handlers and a small budget, along with orders to whip up a 500-page document on what makes Muslims laugh. Brooks takes the job, heads to India, and of course cultural misunderstandings and clashes ensue.Continue Reading …