Comedian Albert Brooks ("Lost in America," "Mother") is known for small stories of personal conflict, not large, insightful commentaries on political problems. But his latest film, "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World," was something the actor/writer/director felt he had to do.
"I felt it was a big cheat to not deal with 9/11," he says. "I'd never seen any laughter in any relation to this subject. I was getting upset because all we're doing is being scared every day."
In the movie, the U.S. government sends Brooks (playing himself) to the Middle East to find out what makes Muslims laugh, thinking this will help them comprehend the culture. It's a deliberately futile mission that the filmmaker uses to ask how America can send troops into a world we don't first try to fully understand on a personal level.
"The government sends him there and once he's there they don't even know he's there and they don't tell anybody!" he says. "It's alright to spend a trillion dollars on all of these weapons [in Iraq], but why not put some human contact on the ground?"
Promotional materials for the film were prepared and then shelved for several months as studio executives grew uncomfortable with the movie's title.
"I believed in my heart that if I couldn't put 'comedy' and 'Muslim' in a sentence together then we're really all just waiting in our house to be killed," Brooks says.
Before shooting, Brooks had to gain clearance from the Minister of Culture in India. He agreed, and the film recently debuted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates to a roaring crowd. "I was scared to go there. I didn't know what in God's name would happen, and it felt like this tension balloon was everywhere," Brooks says. "Just the chance to laugh at the tension seems to have been appreciated. It was the greatest thing I've ever experienced."
It was an indication that this stinging satire could tap into issues on people's minds around the world.
"I'm not presumptuous enough to think that a movie's going to change the world. Movies don't change the world," he says. "But movies provide discussion, and I felt like a little diplomat and that I accomplished something."
Originally published Jan. 19, 2006.
"I felt it was a big cheat to not deal with 9/11," he says. "I'd never seen any laughter in any relation to this subject. I was getting upset because all we're doing is being scared every day."
In the movie, the U.S. government sends Brooks (playing himself) to the Middle East to find out what makes Muslims laugh, thinking this will help them comprehend the culture. It's a deliberately futile mission that the filmmaker uses to ask how America can send troops into a world we don't first try to fully understand on a personal level.
"The government sends him there and once he's there they don't even know he's there and they don't tell anybody!" he says. "It's alright to spend a trillion dollars on all of these weapons [in Iraq], but why not put some human contact on the ground?"
Promotional materials for the film were prepared and then shelved for several months as studio executives grew uncomfortable with the movie's title.
"I believed in my heart that if I couldn't put 'comedy' and 'Muslim' in a sentence together then we're really all just waiting in our house to be killed," Brooks says.
Before shooting, Brooks had to gain clearance from the Minister of Culture in India. He agreed, and the film recently debuted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates to a roaring crowd. "I was scared to go there. I didn't know what in God's name would happen, and it felt like this tension balloon was everywhere," Brooks says. "Just the chance to laugh at the tension seems to have been appreciated. It was the greatest thing I've ever experienced."
It was an indication that this stinging satire could tap into issues on people's minds around the world.
"I'm not presumptuous enough to think that a movie's going to change the world. Movies don't change the world," he says. "But movies provide discussion, and I felt like a little diplomat and that I accomplished something."
Originally published Jan. 19, 2006.
