Rock the Kasbah

Rock the Kasbah (2015) is a music comedy you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Bill Murray as Richie Loftis, a down-on-his-luck talent manager who drags his one remaining act to Afghanistan for a USO tour — and wakes up the next morning robbed, passportless and completely stranded in Kabul.

Then he hears a young Afghan woman singing. Her voice is extraordinary, and against every survival instinct, Richie decides to get her onto Afghan Star, the country's televised singing competition. Bruce Willis shows up as a mercenary with useful contacts, Kate Hudson plays a resourceful local operator with her own agenda, and Zooey Deschanel is the act who bolted in the opening act. The film is loosely built around real participants who competed on Afghan Star despite serious personal risk.

Murray doing battered-but-still-trying is a specific pleasure, and Levinson gives him room to breathe. Stream Rock the Kasbah (2015) online on iFILM.