Rock the Kasbah

Bill Murray is amusing—albeit briefly—as Richie Lanz, a once-famous ‘60s-era music manager who now operates out of a dilapidated motel room in Van Nuys. Times are tough, so when Richie gets an offer to book his last remaining client-cum-secretary Ronnie (Zooey Deschanel) on a USO tour in Afghanistan, the pair are on the next flight to Kabul. But when Ronnie realizes that she's in a bombed-out, war-torn country, she freaks, abandoning Richie without his wallet or passport. Luckily, Richie befriends a couple of opportunistic American arms dealers (Danny McBride, Scott Caan) and a sympathetic mercenary (Bruce Willis), which leads to his becoming the houseguest of a fierce Pashtun chief, whose daughter (Leem Lubany) is a fine singer hoping to perform on an Afghanistan talent show. Richie is also occupied with Miss Merci (Kate Hudson), who runs a brothel out of a double-wide trailer on the streets of Kabul. Very loosely inspired by the true story of Setara Hussainzada, the first woman to defy convention by discarding her hijab to sing and dance on TV's Afghan Star—Afghanistan's version of American Idol—this is directed by Barry Levinson, who served up far better social satire/political farce in Good Morning, Vietnam and Wag the Dog. A silly, sluggish, and only sporadically funny comedy, this is not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (3 min.), the behind-the-scenes segments “Richie Lanz: The Man and the Music” (3 min.) and “Bill Murray Rocks” (3 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a small extras package for a disappointing comedy.] (S. Granger)