Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero (2016)

A wannabe private investigator wins the Green Card lottery and moves to America to pursue his dream only to find himself embroiled in a conspiracy to start the next world war.

Director:

Jonathan Kesselman

Writers:

Maz Jobrani, Amir Ohebsion

Stars:

Maz Jobrani, John Heard, Sheila Vand

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maz Jobrani	...	Jimmy Vestvood
John Heard	...	J.P. Monroe
Sheila Vand	...	Leila
Deanna Russo	...	Marcy Monroe
Vida Ghahremani	...	Maman
Marshall Manesh	...	Mehdi the Butcher
Waleed Zuaiter	...	Malek
Matthew Glave	...	Hank Shannity
Navid Negahban	...	Mohammad Mohammad Mohamadi
Sam Golzari	...	Homayoun
Niousha Noor	...	Homeira (as Niousha Jafarian)
Matt Ballard	...	Karl
Chris Williams	...	ICE Agent
Kevin Christy	...	Rick
Michael Panes	...	Docent

Storyline

A wannabe private investigator wins the Green Card lottery and moves to America to pursue his dream only to find himself embroiled in a conspiracy to start the next world war.

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Plot Keywords:

iranian abroad | passport lottery | persian diaspora | iranica | iranian diaspora | 

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Taglines:

Heroes are not born, they are imported.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 May 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jimmy Vestvood - Benvenuti in Amerika

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$60,860, 15 May 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$201,638, 26 June 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Soul Mining Productions, Perfect Nose Productions, Buffalo 8 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Funny Iranians

Nowadays, you don't connect comedy and Iran in the same sentence, but in "Jimmy Vestvood, Amerikan Hero", it's more than permissible - it's necessary. It's a very funny comedy in a contemporary landscape of juvenile attempts at humor which appeal to the audiences lower instincts. This picture, on the other hand, is genuinely funny via a clever screenplay. It capitalizes on its characters naivete and lack of background in the English language and American customs, resulting in several very funny exchanges between Iranians vs. Americans and, in some cases, Iranians vs. Iranians. In truth, the humor is uneven, but it is tough to maintain a high level of humor throughout a full length feature. But "Jimmy Vestvood" tries.

A quick summary; Our hero wins a lottery and comes to America with his mother. He wants to be a Private Eye like his idol, Steve McQueen, but is quickly mistaken for a jihadist. Meanwhile, he is hired by a U.S. Senator as a bagman for a payoff to an enemy agent for weapons to a foreign country to start a war. Got it so far? Doesn't matter - confusion is part of the fun, so just go with our hero (Maz Jobrani), who is brilliantly funny in a way that Sasha Baron Cohen ("Borat") tries to be. Jobrani, however, succeeds and is funnier. Sound like a good movie? Too bad, it's already gone from the NYC area. It deserved a better fate as it's the best comedy I've seen so far this year, better than "The Nice Guys".