Rock the Kasbah

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2:03

Rock the Kasbah

R

2015

1h 46m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

7%

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123 Reviews

29%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

While visiting Kabul, Afghanistan, washed-up music manager Richie Lanz (Bill Murray) gets dumped by his last client. His luck changes when he meets Salima Khan (Leem Lubany), a Pashtun teenager with a beautiful voice who dreams of becoming the first female to compete on the television show "Afghan Star." With help from a savvy hooker (Kate Hudson), two war profiteers and a trigger-happy mercenary (Bruce Willis), Richie embarks on a mission to make sure his new protégée gets discovered.

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Critics Consensus

The Shareef don't like Rock the Kasbah, and neither will viewers hoping for a film that manages to make effective use of Bill Murray's knack for playing lovably anarchic losers.

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Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

You don't want to see Rock the Kasbah. If you do, you're reading the wrong newspaper.

Rated: 1/5

Dec 28, 2016

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Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

A dog's dinner of a movie which not even the usually reliable Bill Murray can raise above the level of confused, cliched claptrap.

Rated: 1/5

Mar 20, 2016

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Geoffrey Macnab

Independent (UK)

Barry Levinson's film, loosely inspired by the true story of reality TV show Afghan Star, comes at its subject matter from entirely the wrong direction.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 18, 2016

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Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

Strapped with an improbable and occasionally insulting premise (although it is VERY loosely based on the true story of Setara Hussainzada) and a third act twist into misplaced social commentary Murray's charm falls flat.

Rated: 1.5/5

Mar 4, 2021

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Josh Goller

Spectrum Culture

If you want to watch Bill Murray romp around a foreign land, re-watch Lost in Translation.

Rated: 2.25/5

Jul 20, 2019

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Phil W. Bayles

One Room With A View

The best one can say of Rock the Kasbah is that its culturally insensitive moments feel ill-judged rather than malicious. It's not trying to punch down - it's just not funny.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 6, 2019

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George S.

I love Bill Murray, I am also a musician. I like the cinematography. I like Bill Murray’s improv. I’d like to support supporting cast. A lot of this film could’ve been chopped to make it shorter. But I am not saying things this is in his top five but Satisfying to me. Lots of music artist references, and Bill Murray singing smoke on the water with a sitar is of course priceless. I recommend this movie for musicians and fans of Bill Murray. I don’t think anyone else in my family would enjoy it anywhere near the amount that I did.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/09/25

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alan g

A decent plot ruined by Bill Murrays adlibs and demeanor.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/01/25

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Stephen C

Funny in 1 hour and 46 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/10/25

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Andrew B

Genuinely funny, and uplifting. American critics didn't like it because it shows Americans in Afghanistan (i.e. ANY not-USA place) as being self-interested (arrogant) a-holes. Full credit to Murray/Hudson/Levison for the courage to make/present such an insightful and entertaining movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/06/23

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steve d

A complete and total mess despite the strong cast. Not one laugh to be had which is almost impressive given the cast's talent.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

Shockingly poor film. This is a comedy and I failed to laugh once. Bill was excruciatingly bad in this. Lost In Translation was his redemption, this is his back to the '80s and some really dodgy decisions. (Stripes and Ghostbusters notwithstanding)

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

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Barry Levinson

Director

Bill Murray

Richie Lanz

Arian Moayed

Riza

Kate Hudson

Merci

Leem Lubany

Salima

Bruce Willis

Bombay Brian

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Rock the Kasbah: International Trailer 1

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Rock the Kasbah: Trailer 2

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Synopsis

While visiting Kabul, Afghanistan, washed-up music manager Richie Lanz (Bill Murray) gets dumped by his last client. His luck changes when he meets Salima Khan (Leem Lubany), a Pashtun teenager with a beautiful voice who dreams of becoming the first female to compete on the television show "Afghan Star." With help from a savvy hooker (Kate Hudson), two war profiteers and a trigger-happy mercenary (Bruce Willis), Richie embarks on a mission to make sure his new protégée gets discovered.

Director: Barry Levinson
Producer: Mitch Glazer, Ethan Smith, Bill Block, Steve Bing, Jacob Pechenik
Screenwriter: Mitch Glazer
Distributor: Open Road
Production Co: Shangri-La Entertainment
Rating: R (Language|Brief Violence|Sexual References|Some Drug Use)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 23, 2015, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 23, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.0M
Runtime: 1h 46m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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