Rock The Kasbah is the latest movie from Barry Levinson. It stars Bill Murray, and is most definitely NOT a comedy, as the trailers may have you believe. It is very loosely based on the documentary Afghan Star, but in concept only.
Murray stars as Richie Lanz, a guy who’s on the lowest end of the show business food chain. Working out of a motel in Van Nuys, California, he’s acting as a talent scout and manager. It’s clear he’s scamming the people that come to him. Even his assistant Ronnie (Zooey Deschanel) is looking to him to get her career off the ground, but he has her singing Karaoke at a bar, performing standard songs instead of her own. He bumps into a friend, who says there’s money to be had bringing singers to Afghanistan, to tour with the USO.
Somehow, he convinces Ronnie it’ll be a sweet and profitable gig. He says goodbye to his estranged daughter (who reminds him that there isn’t a Kasbah in Afghanistan), and we cut to he and Ronnie on a plane landing in Kandahar, and she is very much airsick. She just wants to leave, but Richie prevails over her as they check into their cheap hotel, as the good, safe one is overbooked. They’re in the bar, and bump into Bombay Brian (Bruce Willis), who’s a security contractor just out on bail for roughing up some of the Afghanis. She heads upstairs for a nap before her first show and he stays at the bar. When it’s time to leave, he’s found that Ronnie has left, taking all his money and his passport, leaving him stranded.
The US consulate won’t immediately help, so he’s stuck. He ends up with two other Americans, played by Danny McBride and Scott Caan. They’re both arms merchants/war profiteers, who set up Richie as a negotiator for an arms sale. After a lot of money is literally tossed his way, he takes the job. He’s escorted by a team, lead by Bombay, and begins to realize this isn’t the cakewalk he was promised. He does manage to seal the deal, and is a guest of the Pashto village’s leader Tariq (Fahim Fazli) for the night.
Late at night, he manages to hear a woman singing. Her voice is perfect, and he discovers Salima (Leem Lubany) in a cave, where she’s got a TV and some magazines stashed. Naturally, she’s the daughter of the village leader, and when Richie asks to be her manager, he’s warned that women are forbidden from singing, so he’s asked to leave. Unbeknownst to him, Salima has hidden in the trunk, so he has effectively kidnapped her. Richie realizes that his only chance is to get her onto the show Afghan Star, no matter the cost.
Oh yeah, somewhere in here, Richie meets Merci (Kate Hudson), the hooker with a heart of gold who steps in at opportune moments. Yes, in Afghanistan, and yes, it’s a bit contrived.
I suspect that this was intended to be a comedic film. However, it’s not. Much like other Barry Levinson movies (Toys, Man of the Year), the film stars a comedic actor in a not-so-funny story, and in theory, the humor is supposed to fall from that. It generally doesn’t. Murray makes some wisecracks, which were smirk-worthy, but it was clear that the comedy falls to the wayside. If you’re expecting a lot of laughs, you will be disappointed. There is a point when you finally see what the movie will become, and it’s not a comedy. It’s sad, because Murray starred in last year’s St. Vincent, and the comedy worked, much better there than it did here.
Sadly, I don’t think a lot of people will like this film. I’m not entirely sure I do, either.