In many ways, comedian Albert Brooks is like Woody Allen. His humor is almost always sharp and sarcastic and is aimed primarily at audiences who's IQs run in the 120's and above… which is why his films are generally only moderately successful here in the U.S. Most of Brooks' films are not made to elicit belly laughs; they are there to quietly take jibes at the modern world and some of its ridiculous sensibilities. And for the most part, they work and I have always appreciated his view. His most recent project, "Looking for Comedy in a Muslim World" is one that kind of blindsided me. I had not heard of it before its release to theatres earlier this year, and it was out so quickly I never had the chance to go see it. So I waited for the eventual DVD, which is now available from the fine folks at Warner Brothers, and took it in over the weekend.

Because of the title, and the little bit I knew about subject matter, I had formulated the idea that it was a documentary of sorts with Brooks traveling to the Middle East in order to discover the secret to making Muslims laugh. Turns out I was only half right. I t wasn't a documentary at all, but a fictionalized account of said travels. In the film, Brooks plays himself as an out of work actor / comedian who's most recent attempt at employment was to try out for the lead role in a remake of "Harvey." Failing to land that role, he returns home to a fictional wife (Amy Ryan), daughter (Emma Lockhart) and an official looking piece of mail from the government. In the letter he is asked to meet with some high officials for a very important assignment.

The high official turns out to be Senator Fred Dalton Thompson (playing himself), who was at one time a real life senator / turned actor. The assignment sends Brooks to India in order to discover (in the part I was right about) what really makes Muslims laugh. The idea is that if we understand their humor, we'll understand the people. You know, reading back over that last sentence kinda makes me wonder if our government in all it's bureaucratic foibles ever really tried to do this. Hmmmm… anyhow, Brooks is also required to write a 500 page report based on his findings.

He takes off to Pakistan in search of laughs, and as far as I'm concerned finds them right away… or me anyway. He is given an office, which coincidentally is housed in a building that holds the offices for U.S. customer service call centers. Think about that for a minute and you should laugh at least a little. Being that he is a complete failure at book reports, Brooks hires a secretary to help gather all the information. He takes to the streets for interviews, and then decides to put on a comedy concert. Neither fares very well, but undeterred he tries but fails to another set up another concert in Pakistan. From there, things just got from bad to worse.

The new DVD release is very sparse of special features, which I'm sure is partially due to the film's low box office take. There are a few additional scenes and a trailer and that's about it. If anything, I really wish there had been some commentary or interviews from Brooks, as I'm sure anything he might have added would have been quite illuminating, if not outright funny.

"Looking for Comedy in a Muslim World" is not Brooks' best work, but the humor is present and the concept is terrific. If you’re already a fan of his work (meaning you have the smarts to understand it), you'll definitely enjoy this one. I still laughed quite a bit at even the worst jokes, as Brooks plays his sad sack image to the hilt.

Directed by: Albert Brooks
Starring: Albert Brooks, John Carroll Lynch, Sheetal Sheth, John Tenney, Fred Dalton Thompson
Extras: Additional Scenes, Original Trailer
Studio: Warner Brothers
Release Date: 8/29/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
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We'll give Looking For Comedy in a Muslim World a B-.