Rock the Kasbah

When comedies are produced with a musical mix, they are often carried out in a creative way, because the connection between the premise and the musical aspect of the film blends well and usually doesn't need to depend on pratfalls or toilet humor to get one through it. And although "Rock the Kasbah" certainly followed this same formula, there were definitely slow areas, not to mention areas that could've been left out and still have had a strong impact.

A down-on-his-luck music manager, Richie Lanz (Bill Murray) from Van Nuys California stumbles upon teenage girl, Salima Khan (Leem Lubany) with an extraordinarily once-in-a-lifetime voice while on a USO music tour in Afghanistan with his one client, Ronnie (Zooey Deschanel). While he's in a remote Afghan cave area, he hears and subsequently meets Salima and between he and his friend, taxi driver Riza (Arian Moayed), sneaks her to Kabul so as to compete on the popular television show, Afghan Star hosted by Daoud (Beejan Land). Richie certainly has his problems getting her on the show since Afghan women who sing in public is considered a disgrace by the Afghan men specifically her father, Tariq (Fahim Fazli), so Richie's friends including Riza and Merci (Kate Hudson) work their best to see this happen.

Others to round out the cast are Bruce Willis as Bombay Brian, Scott Caan as Jake, Danny McBride as Nick, Jonas Khan as Nizar, Sameer Ali Khan as Azam Ghol, Husam Chadat as Nasim, Taylor Kinney as Private Barnes and Megan Raich as Brittany.

This was effortlessly directed by seasoned, consummate veteran Barry Levinson ("Diner" '82, "The Natural" '84, "Tin Men" '87, "Good Morning, Vietnam": '87, "Rain Man" '88, "Avalon" '90, "Toys" '92, "Sleepers" '96, "Wag the Dog" '97, "Sphere" '98, "Bandits" '01, "Envy" '04, "Man of the Year" '06, "You Don't Know Jack" (TV movie) '10, "The Bay" '12, "The Humbling" '14) plus others. One knows that a director is really on top of their game when the actors are so natural in their respective roles that it looks like you're peeking into people's lives while they're living. Com'on, look at his resume and you can see what I'm talking about. It was written by seasoned Mitch Glazer ("Scrooged" '88, "Off and Running" '91, "Great Expectations" '98, "The Recruit" '03, "Passion Play" '10) plus others. This was certainly a good story and premise, but the continuity of the script could've been a little tighter. It kind of jumped back and forth more than was probably needed, so when the story got to that place where it did soar, you were more relieved than excited at that point. Believe me, this was a worthy watch just for the progression of a man, Ritchie going from a slimy manager, to someone who really cares when he finally finds the real deal in talent.

This is a great film in which to witness a true transformation of a man who learns about love, redemption, fear, and selflessness all the while he's in the war-torn country of Afghanistan. And if you can center yourself on this aspect of the film, I believe you'll get a lot more out of it.

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                 Rated: R                                  106mins.