Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2005)

Director:

Albert Brooks

Writer (WGA):

Albert Brooks (written by)

Release Date:

9 November 2006 (Hungary)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

To improve its relations with Muslim countries, the United States government sends comedian Albert Brooks to south Asia to write a report on what makes followers of Islam laugh.

Plot Keywords:

Comedian | India | Islam | Satire | New Dehli

Cast

Albert Brooks	...	Albert Brooks
Sheetal Sheth	...	Maya
Fred Dalton Thompson	...	Sen. Fred Dalton Thompson
Penny Marshall	...	Penny Marshall
Victoria Burrows	...	Casting Director
Paul Jerome	...	Studio Executive (as Paul Eric Jerome)
B.J. Ward	...	Barbara Nader
Lynda Berg	...	Margaret Allenton
Steve Kramer	...	Sam Loman
Vipin Kumar	...	Customs Agent
Avinash Kaur	...	Job Applicant
Rima Laham	...	Job Applicant
Sanjeev Johrai	...	Hotel Guest
Imran Mashkoor Kahn	...	Concierge
Kavita Ashok	...	Waitress
Sandhya Bhatia	...	Street Interview
Mitlesh Prasad	...	Street Interview
Manoj Buxi	...	Street Interview
Surinder Arora	...	Man in Temple
Gabbar Singh	...	Guide at Mosque
Duncan Bravo	...	Stage Manager
Sankalp Rastogi	...	Audience Member
Dhiru Shah	...	Indian Official
Ajay Mehta	...	Indian Official
Rahda Zaidi	...	Indian Official
Anand Vadehra	...	Pakistani Comedian
Lalit Jobanputra	...	Pakistani Comedian (as Lalit P. Jobanputra)
Gugun Deep Singh	...	Pakistani Comedian (as Gagan Deep Singh)
Marco Khan	...	Pakistani Comedian
Ben Anand	...	Pakistani Official
Raghu Bhagat	...	Pakistani Official
Subash Kundanmal	...	Pakistani Diplomat
Ahmed Ahmed	...	Escort
Sammy Sheik	...	Mukhtar Al Mujib (as Sameh Sheik)
Linden Soles	...	News Anchor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mike Akrawi	...	Pakistani Man
Rauf Alaskarov	...	Man in bar
Barbara Ali	...	Indian woman in auditorium
Conrad Bachmann	...	Senator
Ismail Bashey	...	Various (voice)
Homie Doroodian	...	Majeed
Yasmine Hanani	...	Al Jazeera Receptionist (as Yasmine Hannaney)
Avi Kaur	...	Job applicant, look at moviefone.
Emma Lockhart	...	Laura
John Carroll Lynch	...	Stewart
Sanjay Madhav
Marshall Manesh	...	Shaif Al Rafi
P.D. Mani	...	Rasheed
Tony Montero	...	Don Budge
Kevin Mukherji	...	Spotlight Man
Angel Princess	...	Nightclub Dancer
Sunny Raina	...	Feminine Guy
Kavi Raz	...	Passenger Habib
Amy Ryan	...	Emily Brooks
Shaheen Sheik	...	Anisha Kishore
Anup Sugunan	...	Pakistani Driver
Ali Supriwala	...	Indian man in audutorium
Jon Tenney	...	Mark
Juliet Touzene	...	Indian woman
Rajeev Chhibber	...	Indian man in auditorium (uncredited)
James DiStefano	...	Cab Driver (uncredited)
Reena Dutt	...	Girl in Bar (in Delhi) (uncredited)
Rima Mahal	...	Indian woman in audutorium (uncredited)
Shelley Malil	...	(uncredited)
Anjul Nigam	...	Boyfriend (uncredited)
Neil Patil	...	Indian cab driver (uncredited)
A.J. Presley	...	Indian Boyfriend (uncredited)
Rita Rani	...	(uncredited)
Mark Winn	...	Punjabi Audience Member (uncredited)

Directed by
Albert Brooks

Writing credits (WGA)
Albert Brooks		(written by)

Produced by
Stephanie Antosca	....	producer: Washington DC
Steve Bing	....	producer
Herb Nanas	....	producer
Tabrez Noorani	....	Producer: India
JoAnn Perritano	....	executive producer
Pravesh Sahni	....	line producer: India

Original Music by
Michael Giacchino

Cinematography by
Thomas E. Ackerman

Film Editing by
Anita Brandt-Burgoyne

Casting by
Scot Boland
Victoria Burrows
Judy Cook
David Kang
Toufig Tulsiram

Production Design by
Stephen Altman

Art Direction by
John Bucklin
Erik Olson

Set Decoration by
Chris L. Spellman		(as Chris Spellman)

Costume Design by
Deborah Everton

Makeup Department
Linda Arnold	....	hair stylist
Jay Wejebe	....	makeup artist
Annet Wong	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Brad Arensman	....	post-production supervisor
Susan Dretzka	....	production supervisor
JoAnn Perritano	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Steven F. Beaupre	....	second second assistant director
Tabrez Noorani	....	second unit director: India
Pranati Oza	....	third assistant director
Sameer Sadhwani	....	second assistant director
Manish Shrivastava	....	assistant director
Dhruv Singh	....	assistant director
Sunday Stevens	....	second assistant director
Eric Tignini	....	first assistant director
Vinit Vyas	....	assistant director

Art Department
Alan Easley	....	set dressing gang boss
William Eliscu	....	graphic designer
Kristen Gassner	....	set decorating buyer
Sean Ginevan	....	leadman
David Hopkins	....	on-set dresser
David Loitz	....	set dresser
Cameron Matheson	....	set dresser
Don Miloyevich	....	property master
James Passanante	....	paint supervisor
Wayne Springfield	....	construction coordinator
Shannon Tymkiw	....	art department assistant
Kat Wilson	....	art department coordinator

Sound Department
Jeremy Balko	....	foley mixer
Matthew C. Beville	....	adr mixer
Devendra Damon Cleary	....	utility sound technician
Chad J. Hughes	....	sound effects editor
Jonathan Miller	....	supervising sound editor
Andrew Morgado	....	sound editor
Kim H. Ornitz	....	sound mixer
Shelley Roden	....	foley artist
Mychal Smith	....	boom operator
David F. Van Slyke	....	sound effects editor
Jonathan Wales	....	sound re-recording mixer

Visual Effects by
Jamison Scott Goei	....	visual effects supervisor
Sookie Park	....	digital artist
Monty Phillips	....	visual effects coordinator: Digital Dream
Corinne Pooler	....	visual effects producer: Digital Dream
Jerry Pooler	....	visual effects supervisor: Digital Dream

Stunts
Jon Valera	....	utility stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Russell Ayer	....	best boy rigger
Craig Bauer	....	film loader: Los Angeles
Kevin Britton	....	film loader: Los Angeles
Alan Colbert	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Siddharth Diwan	....	grip
Anirudh Garbyal	....	assistant camera
Harry K. Garvin	....	Steadicam operator
Harry K. Garvin	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Raymond Gonzales	....	rigging gaffer
Steven Hiller	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Michael J. Hogan	....	video assist operator
Andrew B. Horton	....	lighting technician
Matt Kennedy	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Greg Mitchell	....	24 frame video operator
Rob Monroy	....	assistant camera
Charlie Newberry	....	additional second assistant camera
Mark Pickens	....	dolly grip
Raman Rao	....	gaffer
Dylan Rush	....	electrician
Lacey Terrell	....	still photographer

Casting Department
Tineka Becker	....	casting assistant
David Kang	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Fran Allgood	....	key costumer
Leah Brown	....	costumer
Nazhat Hester	....	costumer
Rachel Sage	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Helen Hand	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Michael Aarvold	....	music scoring mixer
Michael T. Andreas	....	music editor
Stephen M. Davis	....	supervising music editor
Peter Fuchs	....	music recording engineer

Transportation Department
J. Armin Garza II	....	driver: camera car
Bhawani Singh	....	transportation manager (uncredited)

Other crew
Marja Adriance	....	assistant: Mr. Brooks
Sarah E. Baker	....	production assistant
Jerry Carville	....	second assistant production accountant
Richard Castro	....	first assistant production accountant
Richard Cody	....	key craft services
Clark Credle	....	set production assistant
Mary K. Fanto	....	product placement manager
Stacy Foot	....	assistant production coordinator
Scott Foster	....	production assistant: Washington D.C.
Chris Furia	....	production accountant
Lisa Furia	....	second assistant production accountant
Matthew Hirsch	....	production coordinator
Jason Inman	....	set medic
Catherine Kagan	....	key assistant location manager
Jason Z. Kemp	....	set production assistant
Sidhu Manpreet	....	key location assistant: India
Joseph Martin	....	location manager: Washington D.C.
Claire Raskind	....	unit publicist (as Claire Raskind Cooper)
Jamie Robinson	....	production assistant
Samarth Sahni	....	key location assistant
Sam Sako	....	advisor: mideast
Jay Traynor	....	key location manager
Drew Vandervelde	....	production coordinator
Zane Weiner	....	production executive
Devon F. Wright	....	production assistant

Thanks
Melanie Miller	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Seventh Picture Productions LLC
• Kintop Pictures
• Shangri-La Entertainment
• thinkfilm (Washington DC scenes)

Distributors

• Warner Independent Pictures (WIP) (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Seventh Picture Productions LLC

Special Effects

• Rez-Illusion

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes, dollies and remote camera systems
• Runway  post-production
• Sonic Magic  post-production facilities

Also Known As:

Untitled Albert Brooks Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for drug content and brief strong language.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Malaysia:(Banned) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41936) | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Seventh Picture Productions LLC

Trivia:

Sony Pictures Classics was originally going to distribute the film in the USA but chose not to, citing controversy over the film's title, which they wanted to change. Warner Independent Pictures then picked up the film for US distribution.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Indian flag shown in the Indian government office is upside down. The correct order of the flag is saffron at the top and green at the bottom.

Quotes:

Albert Brooks: Hey, if you guys ever make a dirty bomb, put some of that hash in it.

Movie Connections:

References The Preacher's Wife (1996)

Soundtrack:

Put on a Happy Face

"Was that a joke?" Look elsewhere for comedy.

Albert Brooks is sent by the US government to India on a mission to find out what makes muslims laugh. Why India? Yes there's a lot of muslims there but most of the people Brooks meet seems to be Hindus. No matter what they are they don't think he's funny. And he isn't. Not in this movie.

Initially, most of the jokes are based on how badly planned his trip was. He gets to fly business class instead of first class. Nobody comes to pick him up at the airport so he has to take a cab. His office is small and has no computer, etc. Funny? After that, there is a slightly amusing scene where he has a conversation with his secretary, Maya, and they don't know when the other is joking or not. "Was that a joke?". According to his plans, he was supposed to go to Pakistan, but he doesn't get a visa, so he has to cross the border illegally in order to spend a couple of hours there with some would be comedians. This makes Indian and Pakistani intelligence agents suspicious, and there's almost a political conflict. Brooks realises he has failed and goes is sent back to the US. The End. His wife, unaware of his failure, thinks he's a big hero. The political subplot about the conflict Brooks almost caused, is tied up by means of on-screen text before the closing credits. The main plot also goes nowhere. I'm not sure what Brooks tried to do with this movie. It's not laugh-out-loud funny, and it doesn't work as a dark comedy nor as a satire. Unfortunately, with this movie, real-life Brooks ends up like on-screen Brooks: trying, but failing, to be funny. "Is that the joke?". I'll never know.

So what we have here is a movie with no real laughs and a premise that could be funny, but goes nowhere. Too bad, really, because I expected this movie to be much better. Not recommended to waste money on.