Outsourced DVD

 

 

DVD Review by Kam Williams

 

Headline: DVD Features Cross-Cultural Comedy Serving as Inspiration for New NBC Sitcom

 

                After learning that his job is being outsourced, Todd (Josh Hamilton) is faced with the choice of either resigning or relocating to India to train his replacement. Conceding that he’s standing in the way of globalization, Todd moves to Mumbai, where he soon comes to regret that fateful decision. For not only does he see himself as sewing the seeds for the speedy demise of the U.S. infrastructure, but he finds himself missing familiar food like McDonald’s hamburgers.

So, when he starts familiarizing his new recruits with American idioms, he deliberately misinforms them about the fundamental meaning of certain terms. For instance, he teaches them that ‘schmuck’ means nice guy and that a ‘redneck’ is a farmer, hoping to hurt the business by aggravating callers from the States. Meanwhile, he’s gradually being driven crazy by beggars and pickpockets and local customs calling for eating meals without utensils and treating cows as sacred.

Consequently, he is eager to return home, at least until the day he locks eyes with the alluring Asha (Ayesha Dharker), a raven-haired intern with good looks and spunk to spare. Mutually-curious despite their considerable social differences, the two embark on a flirtatious kabuki dance daily till they can contain themselves no longer and share a stolen kiss.

They proceed to fall head-over-heels in love and to date secretly, although Asha fails to reveal that she’s already engaged to an Indian guy picked out by her parents. Will she follow through with the arranged marriage or abandon her fiancé for the foreigner for whom she feels so much passion?

That is the pivotal question to be answered in Outsourced. Engaging, unpredictable, hilarious and entertaining at every turn, this charming romantic romp offers all you could ever ask of a modern cross-cultural comedy, plus it paints a plausible picture of the logical consequences of sending so many jobs overseas.

 

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content.

Running time: 103 minutes

Studio: CreateSpace DVD/ShadowCatcher Entertainment

DVD Extras: A half-dozen never-before-seen “behind the scenes” documentaries by director John Jeffcoat, a discussion with cinematographer Teo Maniaci, a translation of Hindi dialogue, the final shooting script and more.