The Reluctant Infidel

rated - SIMMERING

This sort of humour is a tricky thing to pull off, as you'll know if you've seen the companion-piece to this film, the superior Four Lions.

But still, here we have a very witty script by David Baddiel (of Baddiel and Skinner fame, a TV series that used to make me cry laughing).  And we have a very charming central performance by Omid Djalili, as the  title character.  He is a not-especially-observant Muslim finds out he was actually born Jewish, and for convoluted reasons, he has to try to act Jewish.  Queue Richard Schiff (from TV's The West Wing) as the Jew who volunteers to help.  And queue a stream of hilarious Jewish jokes, playing on and off stereotypes.  These are gems.

However, the film itself has script problems - not with the jokes, but with the story arc - it's pretty hackneyed. And the director seems to lack the ability to frame the ction very well.  There are lots and lots of closeups, but at other times the action is very oddly observed.

See it for the jokes and the performances.  Matt Lucas as a Rabbi is funny, but somehow not apt.