Next week a local comedian will get the big screen treatment. Mo Amer, a Houston-based, Kuwait native stars in Allah Made Me Funny alongside Azhar Usman and Preacher Moss. The Kings-of-Comedy-style film, which opens at the Angelika on October 3, features a live performance by three men as well as behind-the-scenes footage.
We’ve written about Amer a couple of times in our pages. The Kuwait native fled his homeland at age 9 during the Persian Gulf War and landed in Houston.
“I went and saw Bill Cosby when I was 11 years old at the Rodeo,” says Amer. “When I saw him there I said ‘That’s what I want to do.’”
Amer stuck with it and started appearing at open mikes at The Laff Stop and The Comedy Showcase (he even married Showcase owner Danny Martinez’ daughter). From there he hit the road and toured all over the United States.
This is how he caught then attention of Allah Made Me Funny’s brainchild, Preacher Moss. Moss got his start writing for In Living Color and Saturday Night Live. He started the tour/film as a way to dispel Arab stereotypes as well as make people laugh. In 2006, he invited Amer to join the tour along with himself and Usman. The film has been two-years in the making; we attended a preview screening and have to say it’s pretty funny.
The three guys sling jokes concerning family matters, growing pains, post-9/11 attitudes and politics – both here and overseas.
With a film under his belt, Amer says he is currently working on a one-man-show titled “Legally Homeless” which deals with his trials as a Palestinian refugee.
Allah Made Me Funny opens in 11 major cities – including here at the Angelika – and will run through October 9.
— Dusti Rhodes
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 1, 2008.