The problem might be that the filmmaker pays a little too much attention to sending up his own persona than exploring the subject at hand. The unemployed Brooks, who has had trouble getting work since starring in the ill-fated remake of "The In-Laws," is understandably surprised when he is summoned by the U.S. State Department for a meeting with Fred Dalton Thompson. Encouraged by his eBay-addicted wife (Amy Ryan), he journeys to D.C., where he is asked by the real-life politician-actor to journey to India and Pakistan and return home with a 500-word report on what exactly makes Muslims laugh.

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