'Rock the Kasbah' proves tone deaf in spotlighting Murray
In "Rock the Kasbah," Barry Levinson's sorry excuse for a women's lib war comedy, Bill Murray reverts to a diluted version of his Hunter S. Thompson character from "Where the Buffalo Roam." Worse, he's the star in a story that doesn't even belong to his tired, aging main character.
Murray plays Richie Lanz, an over-the-mountain, has-been rock musician manager in Van Nuys, California.
He's down to his last meal ticket with his quasi-talented assistant, singer Ronnie Smiler (a total waste of the amazing Zooey Deschanel).
Acting on the advice of a drunk soldier, Richie and Ronnie head to Afghanistan to make money by entertaining the troops through the USO, unaware that Kabul and other communities have become the lawless Wild Wild East with guns, bombs and fights.
Ronnie panics and bolts for the airport, leaving Richie with no cash, no passport, no hope and no way back home.
Then, one night, the down-on-his-luck agent hears the sound of an angel singing.
Salima Khan (Leem Lubany), a Pashtun teenager, possesses a voice like warm honey. She dreams of becoming the nation's first female to compete on "Afghan Star," Afghanistan's version of "American Idol."
She has one, itty-bitty, teensy-weensy problem. She will be killed on the spot if she moves, because dancing is prohibited under religious rules.
Plus, her conservative dad feels ashamed of being the father of "the (prostitute) who sings," as the men call her.
From the start, Mitch Glazer's screenplay gets it all wrong. In fashioning a star vehicle for Murray, Glazer fails to recognize the true protagonist of his movie: the talented artist challenging the status quo and shaking things up at the risk of her own life.
Her American agent and publicist should be a supporting character at best.
In Glazer's story, he functions as the hero, embarking on a noble mission to snare his cut of an entertainer's earnings.
"This is nuts!" Richie screeches. He could be reviewing his own movie.
Granted, no Hollywood actor outside of Tom Hanks carries more good will with moviegoers than Wilmette native Bill Murray. The public loves his sleepy-eyed persona, his hip, quietly cool attitude, and his quirky, unpredictable behavior.
Here's a "Saturday Night Live" alum turned serious/comic actor who turned down roles in "The Santa Clause," "Shrek," "Airplane," "Rain Man," "Forrest Gump" and "Toy Story."
Yet, he accepted Richie, whose tics, mannerisms, delivery and attitudes come from Murray's earlier characters, and these aren't even a collection of his greatest hits.
Meanwhile, "Rock the Kasbah" shortchanges its strongest asset, Lubany's star-turning performance as a defiant female artist demanding equality and the pursuit of happiness in a culture where women's talents, like their bodies, must remain invisible.
(Glazer's story has a real-life inspiration. In 2007, a Pashtun woman named Setara Hussainzada sang and danced on Afghanistan television. Death threats forced her into hiding.)
"Kasbah" lavishes attention on its supporting stars: Kate Hudson as an exotic, bejeweled prostitute who takes Richie for a ride on what she calls her "401-K Tour."
And Bruce Willis, playing an AARP version of his "Die Hard" cop John McClane, now a tattooed mercenary named Bombay Brian. ("Do you go by Mumbai now?" Richie asks.)
And Danny McBride with Scott Caan as none-too-smart war profiteers dealing in under-the-table armaments.
Levinson's "Rock the Kasbah" isn't a total washout, just disappointing in how it fails to maximize on its dramatic potential, mostly, Lubany's magically reconfigured vintage songs from Cat Stevens.
When she cuts loose, oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world.
“Rock the Kasbah”
★ ★
Starring: Bill Murray, Leem Lubany, Kate Hudson, Bruce Willis, Danny McBride, Zooey Deschanel
Directed by: Barry Levinson
Other: An Open Roads Films release. Rated R for drug use, language, sexual references, violence. 100 minutes