'The Muslims Are Coming!' often derails into irrelevancy

( Unrated ) ( Monitor Movie Guide )

'The Muslims Are Coming!' shows comics embarking on a tour to try to show America that not all Muslims are jihadists.

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Courtesy of Negin Farsad and Dean Obeidallah
Dean Obeidallah and Negin Farsad in 'The Muslims are Coming' follows a band of Muslim-American comedians as they visit big cities and small towns, rural towns and everything in between to combat Islamophobia.

In the documentary “The Muslims Are Coming!,” a group of young comics, many of them Muslim-Americans, take their stand-up act on the road to states such as Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. The intent is to show audiences that not all Muslims are jihadists.

The comedy routines are so-so (though the falling-in-the-aisles reaction shots tell another story) and the comics’ patchwork odyssey often derails into irrelevancies (like complaints about motel amenities). I kept expecting Sacha Baron Cohen to traipse onto the scene. Alas, he doesn’t. Grade: C- (Unrated.)

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