When I heard about Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World, I got a little nervous. This is the film in which comedian Albert Brooks takes on the monumental task of trying to figure out what tickles the funny bone of people belonging to an entire faith. I couldn't help thinking about my negative reaction to the popular documentaries Comedian and The Aristocrats, both of which aimed to get to the bottom of a joke and discuss what makes it so funny. This idea always rubs me the wrong way because people are so incredibly different, with so many various elements comprising their backgrounds. Therefore, attempting to analyze why a joke is funny is a futile quest. Personally, I prefer to laugh and let laugh. 

As it turned out, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World  ends up being more of a fish-out-of-water comedy, and it certainly demonstrates what isn't so funny for mainstream audiences. Brooks, comic extraordinaire and director of movies like Lost in America and The Muse, plays a skewed version of himself here, a squirmy little dude frustrated that he can't get much work after the disastrous performance of The In-Laws. After getting turned down for the lead in a Harvey remake, Brooks nevertheless finds himself presented with the opportunity of a lifetime: being recruited by the U.S. government to travel to India and Pakistan and compile a report on what makes Muslim people laugh, as a means of better understanding their culture.

There's no real pay involved, and the idea of having to put together a 500-page paper is incredibly daunting, but with the promise of a bright and shiny medal in his future, Brooks can't say no. Off he goes to India first, with two state department agents (Jon Tenney and John Carroll Lynch) in tow and a gorgeous assistant (Sheetal Sheth) at his side, diving headfirst into a journey to find out what makes the nation of Islam laugh -- though in this case, it would have been best if Brooks checked to see if there was any water in the pool first.

When Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World is funny, it's downright riotous. The movie is at its best when Brooks pokes fun at himself as an out-of-work schlub who's remembered either for how awful The In-Laws was or for voicing a fish in Finding Nemo. In fact, the film as a whole would have played out just fine as a straight satire, following Brooks as a guy trying to get a gig in showbiz after having a bomb and a hit come out at the same time.

When the story switches the focus on Brooks's culture clash, the results are decidedly less amusing. The awkwardness between the funnyman and members of his India audience, who don't seem to get a single gag thrown at them, creates a sense of hesitancy on behalf of the viewers; when Brooks bombs at his first show, one isn't sure whether to laugh at his misfortune or recognize that, yeah, he really wasn't that funny.

Sure, there are some absolutely priceless moments in this film, the best of which depicts Brooks's visit to a branch of Arab TV station Al-Jazeera. But that has more to do with the Hollywood satire aspect of the plot than anything else. When it comes to being a fish-out-of-water comedy, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World is as dry as it gets. That, and without spoiling anything, the movie ends on an anticlimactic note, without any build-up and not having accomplished anything by the time the final credits roll. 

Brooks gets along well enough with his hapless comic act, Sheetal Sheth is adorable as his ready-and-willing assistant, and Penny Marshall joins in the lampooning by playing a bitter version of herself in the film's opening scene. But in its quest to see what's funny for an entire people, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World doesn't turn up many laughs in the process. Whether or not this was on purpose is a question only Albert Brooks can answer.

MY RATING: ** 1/2 (out of ****)

(Released by Warner Home Video and rated "PG-13" for drug content and brief strong language.)