Sandy Kenyon reviews 'Rock the Kasbah,' a hoot-and-a-half

NEW YORK (WABC) -- "Rock the Kasbah" may have been certified rotten by the nation's movie critics, but Bill Murray is a hoot-and-a-half as a 'has-been' rock tour manager, who - truth be told - never really amounted to much.

"Richie," played by Murray, has taken a break from auditioning hopeless singers to take his assistant - an aspiring performer - on tour to Afghanistan.

The very talented Zooey Deschanel just disappears from the movie in a way that is completely illogical, and Bruce Willis spoofs his tough-guy persona as a mercenary.

Danny McBride has too little to do as a war profiteer. Another who is making a fortune off this is the prostitute played by Kate Hudson.

With so many talented people in such an unlikely place, "Rock the Kasbah" should be even funnier, and the movie never quite decides what it wants to be - a satire or the serious, true story of a woman "Richie" discovers in the desert.

The daughter of a warlord believes it is 'God's will' she gets to sing on an Afghan television show.

Incredibly, this part of the story is inspired by a Muslim woman who defied her elders to sing on the Afghan equivalent of "American Idol," and several reviewers noted she deserves better than this movie. Understandably so, but the film is more for the laughs than anything else.