Review of Outsourced (2007) by Paul N — 22 Jan 2011

Incredible cheese. Multiple layers of cheese. And tragically, not even an appetizing, cross-cultural variety of cheese. Just cheese. A plot idea that certainly has a lot of potential that is squandered into 100 minutes of pointlessness.

Other than that, it's not bad.

American VP travels to rural India to train the call center employees that displaced his department back in the states. Political correctness then steps in and completely neuters any comedic possibilities - which is not good for a movie that seems predicated on comedic value. We're not allowed to laugh at the Indians, nor are we allowed to laugh at ourselves - both of which can be done in a way that is not condescending. But it's not even attempted.

Josh Hamilton is wildly impassive throughout the movie. The relationship with Asha is about as natural as high fructose corn syrup, but just about as predictable. The characters are not even two-dimensional. I'm sure a lot of money could have been saved by using cardboard cutouts. But hindsight is 20/20, I suppose.

The shots of the Indian community and scenery are by far the best parts of the movie, but play at best a decorative role. Fascinating potential moments of insight and exchange are completely wasted, literally as if the writers/directors had no idea what to do with the situations once they were created.

The possibility of making some meaningful commentary - or at least humor - out of the devastating trend of outsourcing American jobs overseas is completely wasted. The characters affected by these changes appear to be largely unmoved and unaffected by them. Ultimately, American's post-modern cynicism is foisted upon another culture entirely, rendering representatives of both largely unsympathetic as they flail through this film. Nothing and no one is sacred - no loyalty is either reasonable, appropriate, or rewarded. The film attempts for moments of evocative depth (affixing a bindi or 'third eye' to George Washington's head on a dollar bill, efforts at baptismal imagery, etc.), but these are so superficial, so disassociated with reality or the film as to be painfully awkward rather than insightful or transformative.

If you like cross-cultural films and situations, avoid this one. It ultimately reduces all sides to caricatures of themselves while denying itself the right to make fun of these caricatures. Find something else to watch. Like paint drying.