Rock the Kasbah
Open Road Films (II) | Release Date: October 23, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
29
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
16
Negative:
17
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
38
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOct 22, 2015
Star vehicles this rickety have a way of making the world unsafe for comic democracy. Read full review
30
Time Joe NeumaierNov 3, 2015
Old-school Bill Murray, deadpan and gonzo, spices up the amiable mess that is Rock the Kasbah. That’s both a saving grace and a curse. Because while Murray and his laid-back riffs anchor this oil spill of a story, he needs a more tangible movie to latch onto, and all he gets is a mirage. Read full review
30
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeOct 21, 2015
The cast of old pros (including Bruce Willis as a soldier of fortune) amble through amiably enough, but a few laughs here and there aren’t enough to make this movie come together in a satisfying way. Read full review
25
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 22, 2015
This is an unholy mess — a jumbled, tone-deaf satire in which seemingly vital characters are introduced and then inexplicably disappear, never to return; superb actors disappoint by relying on old tricks they’ve used to much better effect in much better films, and every attempt at political commentary comes across as ham-handed and naïve. Read full review
25
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanOct 22, 2015
Sexist, racist, overlong, dull, visually ugly and, worst of all, unfunny, “Kasbah” squanders its cast. Read full review
25
Portland OregonianJeff BakerOct 22, 2015
Murray blusters and hams his way through the first two acts before turning all mushy in the third. Read full review
25
HitfixDrew McWeenyOct 21, 2015
Walking out of the film, I might have given it a C+ or a C based purely on the fumes of Murray's better work that are present here, but the more I've thought about it, the more infuriating it is to see something this lazy and familiar from Murray at this point. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineEd GonzalezOct 20, 2015
The film quickly settles into a depressingly one-note groove as a culture-clashing circus act. Read full review
25
IndieWireKate ErblandOct 20, 2015
Although no one comes off looking especially good, an acceptable alternate title for the film could be "The Ugly Americans," because Mitch Glazer's script takes some of the worst stereotypes about ex-pats and blows them sky high. Read full review
20
EmpireAndrew LowryMar 21, 2016
On paper, this could have been excellent; as it stands, it’s painful and futile for all involved. Much like the Afghan conflict itself. Read full review
20
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinOct 23, 2015
The air of mourning might have worked as a counterpoint to the silliness if Mitch Glazer’s script had smart gags, but as one-liner after one-liner misses its mark, you begin to feel sorry for Murray, who’s really too old to be playing a guy who has a little daughter (not granddaughter) and likes to get kinky with Kate Hudson as a raucous, Dolly Parton–style hooker-businesswoman. Read full review
20
Screen DailyTim GriersonOct 21, 2015
A stunningly misjudged comedy, Rock The Kasbah stretches and strains Bill Murray’s deadpan nonchalance until it snaps, and what results is a singularly unfunny, often infuriating tale. Read full review
20
VarietyAndrew BarkerOct 21, 2015
Laughs are few, attempts at feel-good catharsis fizzle out limply, and all of Murray’s most elaborate performance setpieces — especially his endless rendition of “Smoke on the Water” for tribal elders — fall embarrassingly flat. Read full review
20
The GuardianJordan HoffmanOct 20, 2015
There’s a special variety of infuriating that comes from a bad movie by talented people. Read full review
12
Boston GlobeTy BurrOct 22, 2015
Rock the Kasbah is a pandering, poorly assembled botch that thinks it’s playing fair by Afghan popular culture but only manages to add insult to the countless other injuries inflicted upon that country. If it were any worse, they’d be screening it as evidence at The Hague. Read full review
0
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 22, 2015
Clichéd, enervating, insulting — it’s tough to settle on a single pejorative for Rock the Kasbah, though abysmal might do. Read full review
0
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternOct 22, 2015
No one doesn’t love Bill Murray, but his melancholy torpor can wear thin in the best of circumstances, and these circumstances are pretty close to the worst. The cast includes Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson, Danny McBride and Scott Caan. No one escapes unscathed. Read full review
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