Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2006) Rated PG13 Starring: Albert Brooks, Sheetal Sheth, and John Carroll Lynch Rating: out of

Brooks, who plays himself, receives a letter from the U.S. State Department informing him that he's been picked to write a report about what makes Muslims laugh. The government feels that the usual tactics, like spying and fighting, haven't given them enough information about Muslims and learning what makes them laugh might give an insight in how to win their hearts and minds. Or something.

So, Brooks is dropped in India, with two government liasons, with the task of compiling a 500-page report about what makes Muslim people laugh. So, he stops people in the street and asks them what makes them laugh. When that doesn't provide enough material to fill his report, he gets the idea of putting on a comedy show in a school auditorium to see what makes them laugh.

That's the entire movie. Well, okay, I didn't mention the lame jokes about outsourcing telemarketing jobs to India and an incredibly forced attempt at making political intrigue funny. Nor did I mention Brooks' constant whining about having to write a 500-page report.

What's so disappointing is that Brooks, who wrote and directed this mess, is capable of much better and has a decades-long track record to prove it. Mother, Defending Your Life and Lost in America are among my favorite comedies of all time. I expected more from this film simply because it was written by the usually spot-on Brooks. Sure, he's made clunkers before (The Muse, anyone?) but even they contained some inspired humor now and then.

Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World made me laugh out loud twice. Neither of those laughs came from Brooks' performance or his predicament. One was a throwaway line from a stage manager and the other was when I laughed to myself that I only laughed once as a result of a movie about making people laugh.

Trivia: Sony Pictures Classics was originally going to distribute the film in the USA but chose not to, citing controversy over the film's title, which they wanted to change. Warner Independent Pictures then picked up the film for US distribution. (Source: The Internet Movie Database)