Lightweight but charming Albert Brooks vehicle has Brooks flying to India and Pakistan to do what the title says. Movie is full of very pointed criticisms of America and Americans: that, despite our good intentions, we're self-involved, ignorant of foreign cultures, condescending, and disruptive when we're not foolish (humorously, Brooks single-handedly brings India and Pakistan to the brink of war). Ironically, Brooks's stand-up bombs in India but is a big hit in Pakistan, suggesting I suppose that we're far more alike than different. Movie suffers from the typical Brooks flaw of being more a concept than an actual story it just sort of ends arbitrarily, for instance. But I admire Brooks deeply he's the guy Woody Allen wants to be and I always enjoy seeing him perform. Not everybody can wear his learning as lightly as Brooks. This movie is a good example, also, of how to make political critiques without shrieking at your audience. Subtlety is always the key.
Shockingly many people seem to have missed the point: the movie is not about Muslims but rather American's response to the foreign, a very different thing. I'll just say it's not a mistake that Maya comes off the best in the movie; that's the point.
Shockingly many people seem to have missed the point: the movie is not about Muslims but rather American's response to the foreign, a very different thing. I'll just say it's not a mistake that Maya comes off the best in the movie; that's the point.