Stand-up comedian Al Brooks, who plays a fumbling, ignorant and completely self-involved version of himself (we only hope he isn’t like this at home), also wrote and directed the film. He does a decent job of poking fun at “the industry” and at American stereotypes, but despite its promising premise, the movie leaves us wanting more. Crass clichés may work for stand-up comedy, but in this full-length feature they're mostly lackluster. What’s more, in a movie that tries to encourage understanding of other cultures, typecasting seems a bit antithetical.

To find out what makes Muslim people laugh, Brooks, with the help of his two U.S. government chaperons and the beautiful Maya (Sheetal Sheth) put on a stand-up comedy show in New Delhi. After many mishaps (the dressing room is a tee-pee, the headliner has to introduce himself and the house lights don’t work), Brooks gives one of the saddest stand-up routines in the history of comedy. While Danny the dummy might have worked on the Ed Sullivan show (hard to imagine from watching this movie), Brooks definitely flops at his big Indian debut. We admire his refusal to accept that he stunk, and his increasing passion for this project which takes him on a clandestine detour into Pakistan. However, considering that Brooks is a pretty respected stand-up comedian, we expected more from his routine.

The film’s abrupt ending feels like Brooks pulled an all-nighter when he wrote the script, then realized class was in 20 minutes and tacked on a quick ending. Also, there are moments when we’re supposed to laugh at the ignorant American lost in New Delhi, but we just don’t buy it. How do you miss the Taj Mahal when you’re accompanied by a native Indian woman? We get it, it’s supposed to be funny, the silly American so caught up in his own self that he misses what other cultures have to offer. But it plays more like bad scriptwriting than accidental humor.