Director: Barry LevinsonCast: Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Zooey Deschanel, Leem Lubany, and Kate Hudson
Barry Levinson is the director of wicked clever comedies like Good Morning, Vietnam , and Wag The Dog . And Bill Murray is the hipster grand-daddy of effortless cool, the quirky celebrity with a working-class attitude. And when the two of them get together in the backdrop of Afghanistan we are not wrong to expect some edgy, political comedy.
Once they reach Afghanistan, Ronnie freaks out and leaves taking Richie’s money and passport with her. What follows is a series of events that Richie Lanz deals with if he was Bill Murray… cool, casual, and cocky.
He meets with ammo kings of Kabul and gets into a deal with them to make some spare change and in course, he meets Merci (Kate Hudson), a hooker, somewhat relevant to the story, who promises to put him in positions he didn’t need to apply for *wink*.
While he is on his delivery run he runs into Salima (Leem Lubany) in a cave when she is singing her poor little Pashtun heart out for all its worth. Murray has found his ticket to the big stage and the grand arc lights of Afghan Star the exotic American Idol rip-off. Salima has little to do except sing and not speak unless spoken to, or when she has to quote Rumi to Murray.
The film is a slump, with pale humour, no story line that is worth a nickel to the American public or the rest of the world, and gross reinforcements of a pre-conceived, existing image of Afghanistan which we all know is untrue. Even the film-making or technique doesn’t excite, but with a script this weak there was little hope to begin with. Rock The Kasbah has been contrived in the head of a person who has clearly deluded himself into believing the role of the American Messaiah.
Final Verdict: This one’s not worth your time or money.