Advertising

The Seattle Times Company

NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWapartments | NWsource | Classifieds | seattletimes.com

Friday, September 28, 2007 - Page updated at 02:01 AM

E-mail article     Print view      Share:    Digg     Newsvine

Movie Review

"Outsourced" | A journey from Seattle to India to epiphany

A year from now, the title "Outsourced" might be closely linked to another Owen Wilson-Vince Vaughn comedy currently going by that name...

Special to The Seattle Times

PREV  of  NEXT

Josh Hamilton and Ayesha Dharker star in "Outsourced," which was produced by a Seattle company and partially set here.

Enlarge this photo

SHADOWCATCHER ENTERTAINMENT

Josh Hamilton and Ayesha Dharker star in "Outsourced," which was produced by a Seattle company and partially set here.

Movie review 3 stars

Showtimes

"Outsourced," with Josh Hamilton, Ayesha Dharker, Larry Pine. Directed by John Jeffcoat, from a screenplay by Jeffcoat and George Wing.

98 minutes. Rated PG-13 for some sexual content. Several theaters. For a story on ShadowCatcher Entertainment, see www.seattletimes.com.

A year from now, the title "Outsourced" might be closely linked to another Owen Wilson-Vince Vaughn comedy currently going by that name and scheduled for a 2008 release. Before that happens, however, try taking in the low-key charms of a different "Outsourced," this one produced by Seattle company ShadowCatcher Entertainment ("Smoke Signals") and partially set in the Emerald City.

Co-written by George Wing ("50 First Dates") and John Jeffcoat — the latter also making his feature debut as a director — "Outsourced" is a thoughtful satire that looks at the human face beyond contemporary frustrations associated with the global economy.

Josh Hamilton ("The House of Yes") stars as Todd Anderson, vice president of customer relations for a Seattle company that sells phone-order, patriotic kitsch. Part of Todd's job is keeping his operators' order-taking time down to a few minutes. He's good at what he does, but that doesn't stop the company from outsourcing Todd's entire department to somewhere in India, where local workers can field customer calls more cheaply.

A reluctant Todd is sent to the subcontinent to train his own replacement and get the new operators up to speed. Neither task goes well, but adding to Todd's frustration is culture shock over everything from Indian table manners to public transportation to minimal bathroom fixtures.

We've seen this particular fish-out-of-water tale before, in TV's "Northern Exposure" and such features as "Local Hero" and "Doc Hollywood." The gentle but illuminating "Outsourced" proves the story, as long as it's told well, never gets old.

As with its predecessors, Todd eventually realizes the best way to escape India and get back to Seattle, ironically, is to let go of his resistance to India's culture and people. Transformation precedes liberation, but the lovely question in Wing and Jeffcoat's script is that once Todd is transformed, what does he need to be liberated from?

The film's deliberate, carefully paced narrative can't obscure the sense of epiphany that permeates "Outsourced." Nor can some of its other delights — Jeffcoat's assured location shooting and a fine supporting cast, including a wry Ayesha Dharker as Todd's romantic interest and a brief appearance by Larry Pine as a kind of older, more serene version of the disoriented central character.

Tom Keogh: tomwkeogh@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

More Movies headlines...

E-mail article Print view

advertising

Advertising

Buy a link here

Movie Review: Crowe literally phones it in

Movie Review: "Rachel Getting Married" weds laughter, tears

Movie Review: "The Express": A familiar, old-fashioned football film

Movie Review: "City of Ember": Heroes rise up from dystopian detritus

Movie Review: "Call + Response": A rough but impassioned call to end human trafficking

Advertising

This feature requires Flash 7.

Download Flash

Top video | World | Science / Tech | Entertainment

Marketplace
Advertising