Bill Murray is hilarious so we're glad that the trailer for his new film features David Bowie, Deep Purple, The Clash, Elvis Presley and Guns N' Roses, so we can write about it for Music Times. OK, so there are mostly just references to the aforementioned bands, but we're still pretty stoked to check out Rock The Kasbah, a film starring Murray alongside Zooey Deschanel, Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson and more.
The iconic comedic actor stars as a talent manager for a small-time musician, played by Deschanel (believe-it-or-not). Looking for a way to build her name in the music world, he books her for a show in Afghanistan for "2,000 horny soldiers." She eventually dashes with his wallet, stranding him in the desert for the time being. We can't figure out exactly what roles Willis and Hudson play, nor what the main plot will consist of, but based on short snaps it seems that Murray tries to make it Afghanistan by taking on a local girl as a client and coaches her through the nation's version of American Idol, and all of the culture clashes that come with it.
Expect music to play a huge role, not only in the actual plot. The trailer features references all of the bands listed above, and obviously the title of the film pays tribute to The Clash's famous single from Combat Rock. Bowie's "Rebel Rebel" plays throughout the trailer, Murray is seen playing Deep Purple's "Smoke on The Water" with a traditional guitar and singing (badly) for a group of local men, and then wrapping up his performance with Presley's sign-off phrase "thank you...thank you very much." GNR gets its moment when actor Danny McBride declares "welcome to the jungle" to Murray.
Director Barry Levinson isn't especially known for his work with musical films, but he does have several gems in his filmography, including Rain Man and The Natural (although the soundtrack to his Bandits is terribly underrated).
