ONLY HUMAN
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Born to make mistakes
Given that my wife and I continue to struggle absorbing the horrific news bleeding out of the Middle East, I had a difficult time persuading her to go see the new film Only Human as it focuses, in part, on the Israel-Palestine conflict. As you might imagine, this movie sounded like the exact opposite of the escapist entertainment that she needed.
But after reading her numerous reviews that explained that Only Human is a slapstick comedy -- and one seemingly devoid of bias -- I managed to convince her to go see it. However, she threatened castration if the movie upset her more.
Quite frankly, I was nervous since nobody I trust had yet to vouch for this movie. But thankfully, I didn't have to be castrated. In fact, the movie was so entertaining and expertly crafted that I forgot about my genitals being on the chopping block a few minutes into the film.
Only Human is a Spanish comedy with a romantic setup we've seen many times: girl brings boy home, girl's family doesn't like boy, girl's family comes to like boy. (E.g., Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Meet The Parents, etc.) This version centers around a Jewish woman from Madrid who introduces her fiance to her family without warning them that he's of Palestinian origin.
This film manages to stand out, however, because it succeeds in attempting what seems impossible: (1) creating a wacky and farcical slapstick comedy that (2) wrings humor out of the current tensions between Jews and Palestinians and (3) takes the conflict seriously, while (4) managing to remain respectful to both sides/cultures.
This movie is easy to love since most of the humor is universal and the comic timing is impeccable. Mass mayhem emanates from offbeat characters like the woman's newly-Orthodox brother, her slutty sister, her senile grandfather, and her overwrought mother who delivers great one-liners like "There will be peace in Israel before your father gives me an orgasm!"
While most of the film is a standard slapstick channeling the spirit of Woody Allen's best films, the script addresses real issues like racial profiling. Most notably, a climactic scene involves a tense debate over the history of Israel and Palestine. Yet, despite the fact that it "goes there," the movie manages to be neither anti-Arab nor anti-Semitic. Indeed, I submit the overwhelming majority of Jewish and Arab people would dig this flick.
You won't gain any insight into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from Only Human, but you'll leave believing that one couple can overcome long odds to co-exist and one filmmaking duo can overcome even longer odds to create a spectacular movie from a premise that sounds like one of the worst ideas in the history of cinema.
I highly recommend everyone see this flick -- easily, one of the best films of 2006.
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