User reviews

I don't see why the critic reviews for this are so low, they put me off watching it initially but I'm glad I saw it eventually. It actually starts off really strong with a great setup featuring Zooey Deschanel who I'm not the biggest fan of but her scenes were very funny and her chemistry with Murray was quite good. The plot centres around Bill Murray playing a washed up music manager who ends up booking a tour of Afghanistan with his only decent act played by Dechanel. Once they arrive in the Middle East things don't exactly go as planned and some unlikely antics ensue to varying comic effect. Bruce Willis and Kate Hudson both appear but the real star of the show is obviously Bill Murray, and while this isn't his best work he's still charming and entertaining and manages to elevate the proceedings enough to keep things fun. I laughed intermittently throughout but I did find the beginning to be the strongest and thought that by the end it had lost a little bit of steam but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. I definitely recommend giving it a watch if you like Bill Murray or if you're a fan of adult comedies that don't rely on raunchy humour for laughs.

This movie will be horrible for people who expect every movie to be like Independence Day, The Martian and Star Wars. This isn't a block buster. It's a simple movie about a simple story with a raw cut feel. There are no fiery explosions. It's an interesting story with characters that are cliché but real cliché.

Bill Murray gave a good performance and it wasn't phoned in. I enjoyed it. It felt to me like a 2nd (and better) attempt at a Lost in Translation type story. My guess is that most people will want to catch this on Netflix or On-Demand, which is fine. There is no particular reason to see this on the big screen, but it is a decent film to watch.

There was No Way that this Little Film was going to Escape Controversy. No Matter what Your Political Stripe or Country of Origin, it was Inevitable that in this Noble Effort there were bound to be Things that Offend, Outrage, and Disappoint.

"Tradition is the illusion of permanence.".......Woody Allen

No Doubt, in the Far Future, Our Current Time with its Borders, Language Barriers, Religious Differences, and general overall Mistrust and Hatred for Anything or Anyone "Different", will be Studied and most likely Viewed with much Wonder and Amazement, along with Anger and Pity.

We can take some sort of Solace knowing that our Current Paradigms and Dogmas will eventually be Tempered by the Winds and Sands of Time. In the Meantime the Mind Boggling and Hurtful ways We go about our "Business" of Everyday Life in the 21st Century, You Either Laugh or Cry.

Director Barry Levinson and Bill Murray choose to Laugh. Or to be more Precise, try and make Us Laugh. The Movie has been Destroyed by the Critics and One Wonders what any of Them have done Lately to find some path to "Peace in the Middle East".

Overall, the Film is Worth a Watch for its Heart and Intent. It Deserves a Hearing, just on its Effort alone. Whether You Find it Funny, Pertinent, Poignant, or Pathetic, it's at least Trying to ride the Peace Train in a Wild World.

Its getting harder and harder to make comedy. Some people enjoy taking offense on pretty much anything, disregarding that creating offense between characters or playing on cultural differences can be the very core of comedy. Another problem today is that people want fast stories, at the same time not predictable, at the same time similar to what they already know, but very different, but not too different. I how you get the picture.

I found this film very entertaining. If you don't read anything about it upfront, which is what I did, I had absolutely no idea where this was going next - and I really enjoyed that.

Great dialogues. Bill Murray really pulls it off and so did everybody else.

I wonder why this film was not more successful when it came out. Maybe some films are like good wine. With age they get better. Or some are ahead of their time and the audience appreciates them once they catch up. Whatever the reason, it felt like the right time for me and I am glad I had a chance to see it. For my taste it's better than some comedies of the same period that enjoyed rave reviews and crowds at the box office.

I'm giving it nine out of then because I thought in wrapping the whole thing up it got a bit too stereotypical considering its nice and unusual twists and turns.

Loved the improv in the end when Bill is buying a Chinese elephant for his know it all daughter in a Moroccan Casbah.

Kudos to the makers. I hope they are over the disappointment of the low success when it came out. Hope it will become some kind of comedy classic about attaining a very tiny basic human right for women in patriarch religious societies. The right to sing.

Rock the Kasbah. That three word phrase can mean different things to different people, depending on their personal pop culture awareness and even where they were born. The word Kasbah, which is sometimes spelled with a "c" and sometimes with a "q", traditionally refers to a fortress or a fortified portion of a Muslim city, but can also mean an older section of such a city. Kasbahs are mainly found in North Africa and, apparently, someone named Shareef doesn't like it when you rock a casbah. That's what "The Clash" told us in their 1982 hit song "Rock the Casbah". Those words (with that "c"-spelling) have also been used as the title of a 2013 French-Moroccan dramatic film and another from Israel in 2012. (There was also an American musical in 1948 that simply used the one-word title: "Casbah".) "Rock the Casbah" also happens to be the name of an annual star-studded L.A. party hosted by Virgin Airlines CEO, Sir Richard Branson, and his mother, Eve, to raise money for charitable work in… North Africa. So, now that we've come full circle, it's time to add another casbah/kasbah/qasbah reference to the list – the 2015 Bill Murray comedy "Rock the Kasbah" (R, 1:40), which takes place in… Afghanistan.

Murray plays Richie Lanz, a washed-up Southern California music promoter, overflowing with stories of his relationships with famous rock musicians, but short on recent success. He's even desperate enough to commit cover singer Ronnie Smiler (Zooey Deschanel), the only real client he has left, to a USO tour of American military bases in Afghanistan. Richie literally doesn't know what he's gotten himself into. When reality sets in, Ronnie leaves the country, along with Richie's money and his passport. With no cash, no identification and a two-week wait for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to get him a new passport, he needs other American civilians living in Afghanistan to help him survive until he can get out.

The expats whom Richie meets are quite the colorful cast of characters. Popular local American-born prostitute, Merci (Kate Hudson), helps Richie out… in a number of different ways. (She pronounces her name "Mercy" and is a worldly wise, but sexy-spiritual character.) Then, there's Bombay Brian (Bruce Willis), who is a cross between a mercenary and a very well-armed security guard for hire. Danny McBride and Scott Caan are ammo suppliers, named Nick and Jake, who are making a financial killing, while helping anyone with the money make some literal ones. Richie also gets some much-needed transportation services, street knowledge, cultural education and translation services (not to mention friendship and good advice) from a kind, young Disco-loving local cab driver named Riza (Arian Moayed).

Since he has nowhere to go and nothing to do at the moment, Nick and Jake literally toss Richie a pile of cash to make an ammo delivery to local tribal chief Tariq Khan (Fahim Fazli). Brian is there for security, Riza to translate and Richie for his deal-brokering experience. Richie and Riza end up spending the night in the chief's home. Late at night, while outside taking care of some personal business, Richie hears the beautiful voice of Traiq's daughter Salima (Leem Lubany) singing in the distance. She's inside a cave because women in her culture are not permitted to sing in public. Richie entering the cave scares her off, but the next morning, she hears Richie praising her voice while talking to her father, and she stows away in the trunk of Riza's taxi as he drives Richie back to Kabul. Richie is so enchanted by Salima's singing voice – and the opportunity to manage her – that he uses all his charm and skills to try to get her on the very popular reality TV show "Afghan Star", which is the local equivalent of "American Idol". Performing is Salima's dream and she also sees it as a way to praise Allah, but Allah's other followers in the area see things differently. By helping Salima, Richie and Riza have endangered their lives and hers – and given an opening to a rival leader who thinks Tariq is too soft and would like to replace him as chief.

"Rock the Kasbah" is inspired by the true story of a young female singer in Afghanistan… but it's also a Bill Murray comedy. The advertising tries to… bill this movie as a return to comedic form for Murray. There's definitely some of that smarmy, irreverent humor that made Murray famous in the early 1980s, but not as much as you might think based on the trailers. The film is an entertaining mix of Murray-esque comedic situations, war-time satire, social commentary and old Cat Stevens / Yusuf Islam songs. The main characters are generally likable, while the situations are only pseudo-realistic, but the movie is often charming and amusing, if not laugh-out-loud funny. The main problem with the film is that the script, directing and performances soft pedal both the comedy and the drama in an attempt to have it both ways. "Rock the Kasbah" may be worth a look, but don't expect it to rock your world. "B"

For a movie with an interesting plot, and enough well known talents to have you assume the best, this movie seems to get lost in itself.

The film starts off with a story that will make you want to know more and characters that you want to see grow in front of your own eyes. I was intrigued by all of this and was excited to see what would happen to all of these people.

The story starts off well executed and with a simple yet surprisingly fun story.

But somewhere around the halfway point, the movie does a U-turn. Taking back everything that it made you grow attached to. With the story, the characters and even the setting turning into something that doesn't quite click with all of it's own setup.

I was left confused as to the reasoning behind the deeper motives of the main character. And I was also inclined to ask why this movie shook loose all of these characters that it spent time persuading you were going to be a bigger part.

This movie had a great setup with some well thought out story telling, but by the end I was left not caring about what happened to who, or why they were there in the first place. And the only thing that I took was the message that they were trying to send about women's rights. That right there was the only thing that i could gather from it's shaky story telling, but even that seemed to be undermined by the protagonist's motives.

We went to Rock the Kasbah for an early screening. Neither of us had heard much of anything about it, but I enjoy Bill Murray's work and it seemed to have a strong cast.

But the first half of the film seemed different than the second half. Actors seemed wasted in their roles. I just wasn't quite sure what to make of the movie.

The film is about an over-the-hill music producer, Richie Lanz, scrambling to make a last go of the industry. He brings his last big talent (Zooey D) overseas as an entertainer for the troops, where he will be sure to collect some big money. However, she promptly decides she doesn't want to be there, leaves, and Bill Murray is left to fend for himself sans papers or money. That is how the movie opens. After that we get Scott Caan, Bruce Willis and Kate Hudson appearing in varying roles as Bill Murray finds his way in Afghanistan.

Kate Hudson may or may not be intentionally faking an accent, but tries hard to pull off sex appeal as a hooker for hire. I don't see her appeal. Bruce Willis is the necessary, and typical gun for hire. Zooey comes and goes, and sadly never comes back. Scott Caan is the necessary character who comes and goes to provide necessary funds to Lanz to survive. I didn't find him funny and was a plot device only to basically say the first half of the film is rendered irrelevant.

It's just weak compared to other Bill Murray fare and each character seems to be a cameo, until the end becomes just another old-music-producer-finds-a-talent. It doesn't seem to push many boundaries, which is ironic since the film is about pushing boundaries in Afghanistan.

It was okay, but nothing more and nothing less.

Well this film was just ok. I feel that it was half-baked with an interesting idea but an underwhelming execution especially by the script. The cast seems star-studded but most actors don't make more than a few minutes of screen time as merely a side character for Bill Murray. Bill Murray as always seems to be playing a Bill Murray in another universe and is amusing but not enough to save the film.

It's a better song than it is a movie.

Bill Murray gives a decent performance as a talent manager stuck in Afghanistan when he discovers the talent of a young woman and literately changes the face of Afghan Television. The film is somewhat based on a real life event about a woman who song on a poplar TV show in her country when this sort of thing is not allowed.

You'd think having Murray in a movie would automatic make it Hysterical. After all, I've seen films were this man makes a cameo and it's the funnest moment in the movie.

Definitely not the case with Rock the Kasbah. It has great jokes and fun moments but they are far too distant from one another to be effective in the movie. What's worse is that they try to use comedy to send a message, and it fails miserably, to the point of embarrassment of how an American film just mismanaged someone else's culture.

Should I even mention that Bruce Willis and Kate Hudson are in it? Really does not matter cause they really did nothing in the movie, which is a shame cause I don't recall if Willis and Murray ever did a film together. The bigger shame is actually Zooey Deschanel, who I was hoping would mesh well with Murray's comic chops to make some entertaining screen time, but it did not.

Bill Murray's Bill Murray and he did good with what he was given, but what he was given was poor, making the movie mediocre.

Have you heard of 'AFGHAN IDOL' ? No? What about "The most hated woman in Afghanistan"? Her true name is Setara Hussainzada. Why is she the most hated woman in Afghanistan? Because she dared to sing and dance in the TV final of her country's version of American Idol. During her sedate routine, her headscarf slipped, showing her hair and outraging the war-torn country's religious fundamentalists. This film is inspired by this. And it deserves more than 5.5 stars. Leem Lubany is very good as Salima, the character inspired by Setara. Bill Murray is very good as her manager, Richie Lanz. Bruce Willis as Bombay Brian, Kate Hudson as Merci and Zooey Deschanel as Ronnie, are efficient too. Great music, great film.

Now is one of the best times for television. It was just a few years ago when the state of TV was at it's lowest and the majority of popular shows were reality programs. Survivor, Big Brother and the majority of MTV (Jersey Shore, MADE, and Parental Control to name a few) were considered the hit thing that people seemed to not get enough of. Like plenty of folk, I found the most of it to be uninteresting and had almost no rewatch value. Out of the programs we got from this short-lived fad, the one that will go down in history as the most popular and iconic will be American Idol.

Like anything that's popular, there has to be some translation for the rest of the world. American Idol saw an unlimited supply of regional shows for every country. One such that was also a critically acclaimed documentary was the Afghanistan version, Afghan Star. For a third world country like this, this show remains one of the most watched programs and is even as seen as a chance to escape their poor lives. The very loosely true story about an American music manager helping out an aspiring Afghan singer is shown in Rock the Kasbah.

Richie Lanz (played by Bill Murray) is a down on his luck manager who claimed to have discovered talent like Madonna and Stevie Nicks. He currently represents a rocker Ronnie (played by Zooey Deschanel) who can only get her work singing in bars in LA. As luck would have it, a representative from the USO tours finds Ronnie to be good enough to open for the big singers. Richie proudly accepts and boards a plane for Kabul, despite Ronnie being too scared. They arrive, but only hours into the trip does Richie realize that Ronnie has run away, taking his money, passport and plane ticket along leaving the guy stranded.

He first tries to find her with the help of two gun salesmen Nick (played by Danny McBride) and Jake (played by Scott Cann) that proves fruitless, though he meets local prostitute Merci (played by Kate Hudson) that shows him what to do. He finds out it's going to be weeks before he can get another passport, so he participates in a transaction with the salespeople and local mercenary Bombay Brian (played by Bruce Willis). The village their working with seems peaceful and believes in old tradition, but Richie hears the singing voice of a girl Salima, who decides that she could win Afghan Star.

With such a talent board and an idea that could raise plenty of questions about the war, and American influence on the Middle East, Rock the Kasbah should have been more interesting and way funnier. It takes a lot of work to make Bill Murray, who has experience in playing lovable jerks, into an unfunny, very sad looking imbecile. In fact, why is he the focus? Clearly the story should put more emphasis on the Afghan girl whose story has to be a hundred times more interesting.

The set up seems ready to go, but director Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Good Morning Vietnam, and Wag the Dog) never establishes an idea of what kind of movie Rock the Kasbah wants to be. It wants to be a satire on music business, but dwells into dark terrorist War drama, while juggling with a coming to acceptance philosophy and fish out of water jokes. It's a boring mess.

Not to mention, the environment the movie has us in is in a gloomy, depressing world that would have been fine had it been a drama, but as a comedy, it brings it down even more.

I'll give this three Afghan Star logo's out of ten. Rock the Kasbah rarely works both as a Bill Murray vehicle and as a satire on it's own. While Murray tries to go with the flow, it's not worth going with him to hear an occasional joke. This was something that should have been set on a different character and maybe even made as an foreign film from Afghanistan. But unfortunately, this Kasbah has little to rock about.

Rock the Kasbah serves up a wild and slightly ridiculous premise: a rock tour in Afghanistan to entertain the troops. Enter Richie Lanz, a washed-up rock manager who sees dollar signs and jumps at the chance to drag his reluctant lover and protégé, Ronnie, to Kabul. The plan? Showcase her talent and, more importantly, pay off his bills. The problem? Ronnie's got dreams of singing her own material instead of covers, and Afghanistan? Not exactly her idea of a career hotspot. So, naturally, she bolts with Richie's last shred of cash and, for reasons only known to the scriptwriter, his passport. Talk about a bad trip!

Stranded and broke, Richie stumbles into the orbit of Merci, a sultry, upmarket lady of the night played by Kate Hudson, who somehow ends up working the streets of Kabul. (Why? Because it's a comedy, that's why.) And then there's the friendly local taxi driver who, in the grand tradition of shady deals, takes Richie on a road trip to a remote village where he discovers Salima-a powerhouse singer with one tiny problem: she's Pashtun and absolutely forbidden to sing.

Now, if this were set in, say, Amish country or Greenland, we'd all have a good chuckle and move on. But since it's Afghanistan, cue the controversy. Comedy in this context is a bit like walking through a minefield-one wrong step, and boom! Still, I found the setting to be surprisingly laid-back, almost too chill for the region. But let's be honest, Salima's talent? Maybe not worth risking life and limb for. Sure, she's a good singer, but you could find plenty of those in less explosive locales.

Kate Hudson does a solid job as the glamorous but improbable Kabul escort, and even Bruce Willis pops up in a supporting role, adding to the fun. But make no mistake, this is Bill Murray's show. I've seen him in Broken Flowers and St. Vincent recently, but he's way more fun here. Richie's a lovable rogue - dishonest enough to keep things interesting, but with a heart of gold buried somewhere under all that grift. I much prefer this lively Murray to the grumpy, subdued characters he's played elsewhere.

Probably the movie got unfairly reviewed just because of the setting. Albeit not particularly original, it's entertaining and Murray delivers even to non-ardent fans.

Richie Lanz (Bill Murray) is an agent for musical talent. Based in LA, he has fallen on hard times. He decides to take one act he has, who is also his PA (Zooey Deschanel) on a USO tour of Afghanistan. When she runs away after the first night with all his money and his passport he is left stranded. He becomes involved with gun running to make a quick buck and receives unlikely help from a prostitute (Kate Hudson). One day he hears the singing voice of a young Pashtun tribal woman (Leem Labany) and convinces her to go to Kabul with him to appear in the TV talent show, 'Afghan Star'.

Using the real life story of Setara Hussainzada who became a sensation and pariah in Afghanistan after appearing on the Afghan equivalent of 'America/Britain's Got Talent', 'Afghan Star' as the basis this story, it fictionalises the story to be about a creeper who Murray seems to be unable to levitate to any higher level in what seems a less loveable rogue than in some of his better films. The chemistry between him and Kate Hudson's happy hooker character is also lacking. The film has potential, but sadly that all the elements fail to work can only be laid at director Barry Levinson's feet.

I'm not going to lie and call it great cinema, but I found this movie endearing. The humor was off-beat in a good way and the cast performed very well all around. It also managed to convey some serious things without getting heavy handed.

The talented and brave Salima Khan was an absolute joy, both to hear sing and to watch. Generally, the story and characters gave a rather Americanized view of Afghanistan, but the parts with her in them were spot on authentic in feel.

Was I laughing out loud the whole film through? Not at all. But aside from some slow pacing I found it an enjoyable experience (would have loved to see more Zooey Deschanel though).

I sat through it. Give me credit. Was it horrible? Uh, no, not horrible. Was it a good movie? Uh, no, not a good movie. Were there a couple of chuckles and did it kill time? Yes. Did it need more Zooey? Yes, oh yes. But alas, she left early on and it went downhill.

I guess there was a background story here about a Afghanistan girl and a talent show and the politics involved. I get the idea but didn't buy how it was presented on screen. Probably a real important issue but this movie didn't do it justice. Give them credit for trying? Okay.

There was some interesting scenery.

You like Bill Murray? You want to see him be Bill? Fine, go for it. Otherwise, I doubt you make it through it.

First of I love Bill Murray in just about anything. I often check up on Bill to see what he is taking on next and have looked forward to this ever since i read about it. I enjoy going to the movies with my grandmother for a nice time together and asked her out to spend 2 hours with Bill today. I was not disappointed what so ever. Yes there was more potential with the stellar cast that was put together and the editing may be a bit sloppy but don't let that turn you off. This movie will take you on a journey if you care to let it. Murray once again plays a bitter old timer that turns out to have a heart of gold in the end. If you are sick of this shtick, which i will never get tired of, then don't bother. But this is a social commentary on the oppression of middle eastern women and really the overall need to take a stand for yourself. Bill has the "golden ears" and knows talent when he hears it even if he didn't discover it himself. He puts his life on the line for his 20% to support an Afghani girl(one in too many) with a talent she isn't allowed to share. Once this comes into play the movie blossoms into beauty. While it isn't lol funny, which i don't understand why people come to expect that from William these days, it is very sweet and heartfelt. The jokes are there if you care to listen and not sit on a pedestal. I get if you don't want to be ripped off for the price of admission for this movie but don't s**t on it and wait to rent it. It is still far better than 99% of the garbage that comes out on a weekly basis. I also enjoy casually questioning people as we leave the theater as to how they enjoyed the film and ran into a refugee from Afghanistan who really enjoyed this picture and the message that it sent. Idk I'm half drunk and rambling and wrote a terrible first review but Eff off film snobs go judge the globes and shove them where the sun don't shine :) peace out imdbers

That's my summary. Okey: Great acting, nice paste, a bit unfilled - but I enjoyed it very much. Perfect start of the morning. Especially liked the long scenes with Murray and Willis, acting-wise. Laughed a little, cried a little, had an overall good time.

Want to laugh your brains out? This is not the movie.

Want to FEEL?

Perhaps not.

A bit of both, although not DYING?

Try it.

Are there ten lines now? This is my first "review", I think, just thought the 5-er was a bit unfair.

• Frode O.

What was Bill Murray thinking??? I had to turn this film off after about 52 mins into it, just a load of crap!

Don't waste your time on this one. Watch what about Bob instead!