A down-on-his-luck music manager discovers a teenage girl with an extraordinary voice while on a music tour in Afghanistan and takes her to Kabul to compete on the popular television show, Afghan Star.
Director: Barry Levinson
Stars: Bill Murray, Leem Lubany, Zooey Deschanel, Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3164256/
Watched online, ok print.
27 songs in the Soundtracks.
Really didn't see it all the way through: got distracted then fell asleep a couple of times and restarted. I suspect it's a 5, but I'll be generous. It doesn't seem like the gun-running, mercenaries and warlords are fodder for humor in a real country, actually named in the film. But it also has showbiz elements: American wannabe goes there under protest with her manager BM to perform in "USO" show, then escapes the country without him; Afghan Star contestant intersects with BM somehow. Because of the unpleasant landscape and activities, I don't want to try again today.
IMDb trivia: "The story is loosely based on Setara Hussainzada, the first woman to compete on Afghanistan's popular talent show Afghan Star (2009), a television show similar in concept to American Idol (2002)." This is mentioned in an endtitle of the film.
KH did not remind me of her mother here, and I didn't understand the point of her character, other than to give BM another bad experience on this trip.
KH did not remind me of her mother here, and I didn't understand the point of her character, other than to give BM another bad experience on this trip.
Rated 5.5 (9,351)
indie, dir. Levinson; 6-
