The Reluctant Infidel

It has been well recognised that features tend to come in pairs, with studios seemingly more than willing to fight over different incarnations of any and every film trend. Accordingly, we have duelling duos in the realms of Wyatt Earp westerns (Tombstone and Wyatt Earp), asteroid disaster flicks (Deep Impact and Armageddon), cartoon critter capers (Antz and A Bug’s Life), magician movies (The Illusionist and The Prestige), Truman Capote biopics (Capote and Infamous), security cop comedies (Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Observe And Report), ensemble actioners (The Losers, The A-Team), and couple killer offerings (Killers, Knight And Day), with plenty of others (Volcano and Dante’s Peak, Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line) also rounding out the list. Which brings us to The Reluctant Infidel, the second British Muslim comedy to come out of the U.K. in as many months (after Chris Morris’ Four Lions). An examination of finding identity amid religion, it subverts stereotypes in a tongue-in-cheek offering from director Josh Appignanesi (Song Of Songs), writer and comedian David Baddiel (Baddiel & Skinner Unplanned), and stand-up comic Omid Djalili (The Omid Djalili Show).

Simply called The Infidel abroad, the feature centres on Mahmud Nasir (Djalili), an observant but relaxed follower of his faith with a wife (Saamiya, played by The Good Wife‘s recent best supporting actress in a drama Emmy award winner Archie Panjabi), grown son (Rashid, Like Minds‘ Amit Shah), and four year old daughter (Leah Fatania as Nabi) to match. When Rashid’s impending marriage to his girlfriend Uzma (Soraya Radford) requires the approval of her new stepfather – an extremist Egyptian cleric by the name of Arshad El Masri (Yigal Naor, Munich) – Mahmud’s devotion to Islam is called into question. The situation is made worse upon the inconveniently timed discovery that not only was Mahmud adopted, but he spent the first two weeks of his life as Solly Shimshillewitz, having been born into a Jewish family. Compounding matters further is a trivial dispute with cab driver Lenny (Richard Schiff, Solitary Man), however after bonding over the finer points of Judaism the pair become fast friends. Struggling with proving his moderate Muslim credentials at the very time his sense of self is stripped away, and unable to confide in his loved ones for fear of rejection, Mahmud embarks on an unconventional spiritual journey to discover the meaning of tolerance and uncover his inner religious leanings, reconnecting with family and friends, new and old, in the process.

Although well-meaning, heart-warming and intermittently astute, there is a strong sense of the unconvincing that surrounds The Reluctant Infidel, with the flat film missing that crucial comedy spark. Unravelling as a series of mildly amusing – and mostly messy – character sketches drawn thinly across 105 minutes, the ambitious multicultural “life swap” project never quite connects, with the detail so promising in the irreverent concept lost in execution (resulting in an effort sadly familiar to viewers of broad ethnic comedies, with films The Wog Boys and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and Australian TV programs Acropolis Now and Fat Pizza immediately springing to mind). Indeed, there is little in the way of subversiveness or  subtlety to be found, as the blatant focus on punchlines and sight gags (including a frustrating running joke about the over use of air quote hand gestures) in Baddiel’s satirical script renders anything more cultured or observant on race and religion obsolete. Factor in a quick cameo from Little Britain‘s Matt Lucas as a rude rabbi and the overall farcical flavour of the film is apparent, with larger than life star Djalili the most understated element in an oversized collection of inoffensive Islamic and Jewish cliché. The result is a win to Four Lions in the latest competition over premise, with The Reluctant Infidel reluctantly second best in the comedic fundamentalist stakes.

The Reluctant Infidel is now screening in selected cinemas.

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Tags: comedy, films, movies, politics, religion, satire