Outsourced surprised me with its warm humor and thoughtful treatment of culture clashes. The premise is that an American is sent to India to train his replacement. The job is “selling kitsch to rednecks” over the phone.
The inevitable romance seems contrived, but I quite like the actors. More compelling are the friendships the American forms with his new coworkers (including his love interest).
I also like the film for some of its cultural themes: cultures have much to offer each other, we do well to pick up the finer aspects of other cultures, and outsourcing brings its benefits as well as its difficulties.
The film looks mostly at the brighter side of India, which is indeed heartening as economic opportunity makes headway. The film barely touches on the continuing problems of India, but, hey, it’s a romantic comedy.
And the film mostly was filmed in India by local crews, so the film manifests its own theme. Apparently the big difference is that Bollywood typically films first, dubs later, while this American project filmed with the sound, creating a few problems. (Watch the documentary material when you rent it.)
I had really been looking forward to Wall-E, which I found to be a disappointment with its ridiculous premise. I was grateful that in the same week I found the truly enjoyable film Outsourced.