Review of Rock the Kasbah (2015) by Hugo V — 07 May 2016
"The cinematic equivalent of walking in a hot desert for 10 hours".
DVD Movie Review: Rock the Kasbah.
Date Viewed: February 9 2016.
Directed By Barry Levinson (Diner, Rain Man,.
Wag the Dog, Bugsy, The Natural and Good Morning, Vietnam).
Written By Mitch Glazer.
Starring: Bill Murray, Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschanel, Bruce Willis, Danny McBride, Scott Caan, Beejan Land, Leem Lubany, Fahim Fazil, Arian Moayed and Taylor Kinney.
How could bright and talented people such as Bill Murray, screenwriter Mitch Glazer and director Barry Levinson come up with this mess? It is a comedy so dry and desperate, it fails on every level. "Rock the Kasbah" is about a burned-out former music manager who gets stuck in Afghanistan but is given a chance to promote a young girl with an extraordinary voice. This premise is not bad for a comedy but the way it's handled by Levinson and Glazer is outright dismal. "Rock the Kasbah" is Levinson's worst movie since 2004's "Envy".
Former music manager Richie Lanz (Murray) gets stranded in Kabul, Afghanistan after his last remaining client, Ronnie (Zooey Deschanel) left the country with his passport and all of his money. Abandoned and completely broke, Richie doesn't know what to do. However, luck is on his side when he discovers a young Afghan girl named Salima (Leem Lubany). She has an extraordinary singing voice and Richie wants to promote her on Afghanistan's version of "American Idol" but her father forbids her from participating in the competition because it is disrespectful to her religion.
"Rock the Kasbah" also stars Kate Hudson as a hooker with a heart of gold, Danny McBride and Scott Caan as a pair of war profiteers and Bruce Willis as a hard-as-nails mercenary. What a waste of talented people!
I never thought I will see Bill Murray at his worst but now I have. His character is unfunny and annoying and Murray has played this likable loser role a hundred times before. Murray is a talented man, I'm sure he can comeback from this dreadful mess.
"Rock the Kasbah" is the cinematic equivalent of walking in a hot desert for 10 hours.
This review of Rock the Kasbah (2015) was written by Hugo V on 07 May 2016.
Rock the Kasbah has generally received mixed reviews.
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