Rock The Kasbah

You can expect something smart when Barry Levinson and Bill Murray team up on a darkish comedy about a two-bit rock manager who can't find a venue to book his last-remaining client in the United States, so he opts for a USO tour in war-torn Kabul. Still, this soft-edged satire ends up being rather uplifting and sweet.

With a history of Academy Award nominated political lampoons, like "Good Morning Vietnam" and "Wag the Dog," director Barry Levinson naturalistic, almost documentary-like filming technique instantly evokes some of the great, anti-war comedies, like "Catch 22" and "M.A.S.H." But he never ends up choosing to go there.

Instead he returns to his source material, the documentary "Afghan Star" about an "American Idol" type TV show in in Afghanistan where everyday citizens can listen to popular music again after the Taliban's ban and the way this show upsets the conservative Muslim community.

The ugly underworld of illegal weapons, prostitution, patriarchy and violence set-up in the beginning of the film morphs into a charming tale of a young woman who wants to honor God in her own way, by singing Cat Stevens songs to an audience who feels it's improper for her to expose her face hair much less open her mouth.

But don't look for an Afghani woman to be your hero. This movie centers completely around the reliably talented Bill Murray, as Richie Lanz, a big-talking American who finds himself stuck among Pashtun people in a remote desert compound. There he stumbles upon a once-in-a-lifetime client (even better than Madonna, whom he claims he also discovered) secreting her singing talent in a clandestine cave.

A handful of fine actors follow Murray on his wild ride, like Kate Hudson as a happy hooker come to Kabul to find her fortune, the mercenary with a heart of gold Bruce Willis and the hard-partying war-profiteers Danny McBride and Scott Caan. So unlike the original, this movie is less about women's rights and more about a man's struggles. Nevertheless, there's no question that this man will make you laugh out loud.

There are a couple of two and a half minute featurettes that give Murray another opportunity to crack us up with his quick wit and improv as well as deleted scenes in this Blu-ray Combo Pack.

"Rock the Kasbah"
Blu-ray Combo Pack
$19.95
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