Outsourced movie review & film summary (2007) | Roger Ebert

Todd Anderson (Josh Hamilton) finds charm in the ways of India through Asha (Ayesha Dharker), a co-worker, in “Outsourced.” ... There is nothing ... Reviews Hello,Central,givemeBangalore RogerEbert September27,2007 Tweet ToddAnderson(JoshHamilton)findscharminthewaysofIndiathroughAsha(AyeshaDharker),aco-worker,in“Outsourced.” Nowstreamingon: Poweredby JustWatch ThereisnothinginIndiamoremysteriousthanthelovelylanditself.Theriotofcolors,thecarelessjumbleofthecities,thefrequentfriendlinessandgoodhumorofapeoplewhoaresodifferentfromus,exceptthat,often,theyspeakthesamelanguage.Moreorless."Outsourced"beginswithanAmericansenttoIndiatotrainthelow-paidemployeesofanewcallcenterforhiscompany,AmericanNoveltyProducts.Itsells,heexplains,"kitschtoredneckschmucks."HisIndianassistantaskshim,"Excuseme.Whatis'redneck'?Whatis'kitsch'?Whatis'schmuck'?"Andwhataretheseproducts?Americaneaglesculptures.Wisconsincheeseheadhats.Brandingironsforyourhamburgers. Advertisement TheAmericanisnamedTodd(JoshHamilton),althougheveryonehearsitwrongandcallshim"Mr.Toad."Hisassistanthasamuchmoresensiblename,PurohitN.Virajnarianan(AsifBasra).AlthoughwagesarelowinIndia,Purohitwillmake500,000rupeesasthenewmanager.Thatcomesouttoabout$11,000,enoughforhimtorealizealong-delayedmarriagetohisbetrothed.Toddisastrangerinaverystrangeland.SomeofhisexperienceremindedmeofmyownattheCalcuttaandHyderabadfilmfestivals.Hewildlyovertipsabeggarwomanattheairport.Hefindshimselfridinginoneofthosethree-wheeledopen-airtaxis.Hemakesthemistakeofeatingstreetfood.Heencountersnewdefinitionsoftheacceptable(onacrowdedbus,ayoungboypolitelystandsuptoofferToddhisseat,thensitsbackdownonhislap).Heisconstantlybombardedbyofferstogohere,gothere,buythis,seethat.Sometimestheseoffersareworthlisteningto,aswhentheyleadhimtoacharmingroominghouse.Andwhataboutthecallcenteritself?Itlookslikeaconcrete-blockstoragehut,stillunderconstruction.Inside,Purohitoversees12or15employeesstrugglingwithcustomercomplaints.Question:"I'morderingmyAmericaneaglefromIndia?"Answer:"Itisnotmadehere,sir.ItismadeinChina."Averagelengthofacall,over12minutes,Todd'sinstructions:Getitdowntosix.Impossible.Hestartswithpeptalksandlessonsinpronunciation:"SayyouareinChicago.Pronounceitsha-CAW-ga."Theyobedientlyrepeat,"Shy-CALL-go."Butoneemployeeseemsaheadofthecurve.Thisisthebeautiful,helpfulAsha(AyeshaDharker),whoyoumayhaveseeninthetitleroleof"TheTerrorist"andthequitedifferentroleofQueenJamilliain"StarWars--EpisodeII:AttackOfTheClones."ShequestionsToddduringhisclasses,tellshimheneedstoknowmoreaboutIndia,hasasmilethatdismisseshisdoubts.ShebecomeshisteacheronsuchmysteriesasKali,thegoddessofdestruction("Sometimesitisgoodtodestroy.Thenthingscanstartagain.")Andofcoursetheyfallinlove,althoughitisnottobe,becauseshewaspromisedinanarrangedmarriageattheageof4."Thenwhyarewehere?"heasksheronabusinesstrip,astheydebateapositiontheyfindinabookattheKamaSutraHotel."ThisislikeatriptoGoa,"shesays,referringtotheidyllicsouthernprovinceofIndia,formerlyPortuguese.Inhermind,beforealifelongarrangedmarriage,onetriptoGoaispermitted. Advertisement "Outsourced"isnotagreatmovie,andmaybecouldn'tbethischarmingifitwas.ItisafilmburstingwithaffectionforitscharactersandforIndia.Itneverpushesthingstoofar,neverstoopstocheapplotting,isaboutpeoplelearningtoreallyseeoneanother.Ithasafundamentalsweetnessandinnocence.JoshHamilton,aveteranofmorethan40movies,findsadefiningrolehere,asanimmenselyamiableman.TolookuponAyeshaDharkeristolikeher.Andinatimewhentheword"chemistry"islightlybandiedabout,whattheygenerateistherealthing.AsinmostIndianmovies,thereisnoexplicitsex,butbecausethisisaU.S.production,thereissomekissingandwakinguptogetherunderthesheets,andwow,itbeatsanythingintheKamaSutra. Romance Indie Drama Comedy RogerEbert RogerEbertwasthefilmcriticoftheChicagoSun-Timesfrom1967untilhisdeathin2013.In1975,hewonthePulitzerPrizefordistinguishedcriticism. Nowplaying DeepWater BrianTallerico Aline SheilaO'Malley TheAdamProject NellMinow Gagarine OdieHenderson AgentGame GlennKenny Night’sEnd PeterSobczynski FilmCredits Outsourced(2007) RatedPG-13 forsomesexualcontent 102minutes Cast MattSmith asDave JoshHamilton asToddAnderson LarryPine asVeterantourist AyeshaDharker asAsha AsifBasra asPurohitN.Virajnarianan Writtenby GeorgeWing Jeffcoat Latestblogposts HBOMax'sTokyoViceisaThrillingNewspaperNoir 2days ago OurFavoriteRogerReviews:Diabolique 2days ago OurFavoriteRogerReviews:Lincoln 2days ago JoyfullyWeirdandFearless:StephanieHsuonEverythingEverywhereAllatOnce 2days ago Advertisement Comments commentspoweredbyDisqus Advertisement Advertisement