A Hologram for the King (2016)

My Review

“A Hologram for the King” is a drama-comedy film about a washed-up corporate salesman who travels to Saudi Arabia to propose a business deal with the royal family there. He gets help from a beautiful doctor and a wise-cracking taxi driver. Director-screenwriter Tom Tykwer put together an intelligent and entertaining film with lots of moving parts. It was adapted from a 2012 novel of the same name by Dave Eggers.

Tom Hanks is great in the lead role of salesman Alan Clay. Isn’t he always entertaining? Co-stars include Omar Elba as the taxi driver, Sarita Choudhury as the doctor, Sidse Babett Knudsen as a Danish national, Tom Skerritt as Hanks’ father, Lewis Rainer as the young Alan, and Ben Whishaw, Tracy Faraway, and Jane Perry as Alan’s tech team. The very watchable “A Hologram for the King” was a flop at the box office for The Playtone Company, X-Film Creative Pool, Primeridian Entertainment, Silver Wheel, and Lionsgate Films. It was filmed primarily in Morocco, with additional shooting in Egypt and Germany.