Vashirdfel
Simply A Masterpiece
Listonixio
Fresh and Exciting
TrueHello
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Adam Peters
(19%) A British comedy littered with famous TV faces (or at least to those who live in the UK anyway) that does at least try and bring the divisions in religion a little closer together, but sadly when it comes to being funny this is lacking by quite a big margin. Omid Djalili is a likable, funny guy who tries his best with his oddball, at times highly obnoxious character, while the premise was there for this to be at least a decent watch with plenty of bite. So it's sad that the script is ponderous, a little lazy, and really lacking in the laughs department. I counted two maybe three minor sniggers in the whole film which isn't enough by any stretch. There are some decent bits in among the drab, messy script, but not enough to make this a recommendation.
wcpom
I read the plot summary of this film before I watched it "An identity crisis comedy centred on Mahmud Nasir, successful business owner, and salt of the earth East End Muslim who discovers that he's adopted - and Jewish. " I liked the idea and thought it had a lot of potential for some laughs. That, together with the fact that I had enjoyed what I had seen of Omid Djalili before, a sort of middle eastern Alexei Sayle, made me quite keen to watch it. But the delivery was so much less than the potential. The jokes were mainly lame, the supporting cast were really weak and why on earth was the black cab driver American? It would have made much more sense if he had been a Londoner and probably would have been much funnier.It was really a by the numbers "we are all the same at heart" story line. But, because of the weak writing and delivery, it was hard to really care very much if everything worked out in the end.Such a pity as I was hoping for something along the lines of a cross between Four Lions and Friday Night Dinner. Now that would be worth watching.
baron1-1
This is a funny movie, which is unfortunate, because the humor is used to deliver anti-Jewish and anti-Israel lies and stereotypes. While the slant is basically anti-religious on both sides, the anti-Semitis goes unchallenged, leaving a poisonous taste. It no doubt reflects the general state of mind in Britain and the Muslim community, but that is no excuse. The only good thing about it is that it gave some work to Jewish actors. It is not on the level of My Beautiful Launderette, by far. As Hanif Kureishi is mentioned in the course of the movie, it bears comparison with his fine work. It is tacky. It is a vehicle for its executive producer, to be sure, and a very good actor who plays his son. The hiring of Richard Schiff would seem to be an attempt to give it legitimacy. But by all means, watch it if you want to see a rabbi get punched, another tacky and meaningless Bar Mitzvah ceremony and other such statements.
FlashCallahan
Mahmud Nasir lives with his pretty wife and two children. His son plans to marry Uzma, the step-daughter of Egyptian-born Arshad Al-Masri, a so-called 'Hate Cleric'.Mahmud, is not exactly a devout Muslim, he drinks alcohol, and does not pray five times, but does agree that he will appease Arshad, without whose approval the marriage cannot take place.Shortly thereafter Mahmud, while going over his recently deceased mother's documents, will find out that he was adopted, his birth parents were Jewish, and his name is actually Solly Shimshillewitz.He conceals this information from his family, and with the help of his neighbour, tries to understand the Jews, their religion and even locates his birth-father, who is on his death-bed in a nursing home.Mahmud does not know that Arshad has been checking into his background, has videotaped him setting fire to a Jewish cap during a protest, and has already approved of him, despite of his letter to the media about 'moderate Muslims'.But on the day of the meeting with Arshad and Uzma - Mahmud will find his life drastically changed...Back in the nineties, Baddiel was a comedy genius, giving us some of the freshest material against a lot of British has beens ho were constantly going on about the government. Fast forward almost twenty years, and Baddiel is turning into one of those comedians, with this lukewarm affair.The film just gets tangles up in it's own smugness, it tries to be too clever, the premise is simple, but gets bogged down by the silly script and the unclear narrative.The cast are good, and for a stand up comedian, Djalli is great in the lead role.But the film appears to be too careful as to who it will offend, where it should have done the opposite, making it a little controversial.There are interesting aspects though, the sub-plot involving the disgraced eighties singer is a good inclusion, but the rest of it is sadly wasted, despite the good cast and the good intentions.
