MOVIE REVIEW - Rock The Kasbah

Bill Murray is making the best movies of his long career, and his latest is one of his best.

Rock the Kasbah will join last years off beat comedy, St.Vincent as among his best roles ever.  This is also a story you have never even come close to seeing before and for me, when done properly, I always dish out major kudos for.  This small indy movie is worth the ticket and really fun to watch. This is one of those drama-comedies that straddles the line nicely between both sides.

Murray plays this down and out music promoter, who never really made it big over his 40 plus year career.  He somehow managed to hang on and make just enough to get by. He is a fast talker, and half truth teller to the extreme.   He finds a young female act in Los Angeles and in a drunken conversation with some clown in the bar where she is singing, and is convinced to take this girl to Afghanistan to perform for the USO.  Being promised big money he does.  Then she dumps him while there, and she leaves him without money or passport.

While marooned, he discovers by accident a young women from Afghanistan who loves to sing. Problem is, she is prohibited by religious law to do so at any time, anywhere.  But somehow he works it out where she sings on their version of American Idol in Afghanistan.  Needless to say, this causes a HUGE public outcry and controversy.  How will this be resolved?

This is absolutely terrific in every regard.  The performances by Murray and his supporting cast of Kate Husdon, Zooey Dashanel, Bruce Willis, and other are simply fantastic.  The writing is sensational and incredibly original and as this goes along, it simply gets better and better.  The music is also wonderful.  Plus, this is filmed so skillfully, you feel you are in the middle of one of the most dangerous places on earth.

This movie showcases very well the turmoil that is in Afghanistan.  The struggle between the extremely traditional, and those who are open minded to a possibly more modern and updated country socially and economically.   This is an easy movie to watch, and wraps up nicely when you are ready for it to.  It says what it has to say and moves on, all the while carefully developing characters you have not met before, telling a story you have not seen previous. 

Rock The Kasbah. Terrific.