Exporting Raymond (Phil Rosenthal, 2010): USA

Reviewed by Alex Descano. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2011.

If you’re looking to experience genuine humor and laugh until you reach the verge of tears, you must go see this movie! Creator of America’s favorite sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond”, Phil Rosenthal, documents his crazy journey to Russia in the brilliantly funny film Exporting Raymond.

Exporting Raymond began when Rosenthal received a call from some studio associates saying they were interested in adapting his show in Russia. Flattered and excited to take on the challenge, Rosenthal decided to fly to Russia and begin the process of creating the Russian version of “Everybody Loves Raymond”. Little did he know he was getting himself into what will probably be one of the strangest experiences of his career.

Immediately upon meeting Rosenthal in the documentary it is evident he is an extremely comedic man. His greatest comedic quality is the fact that he oblivious to just how funny he is. His awkward personality is almost equivalent to that of his character “Raymond” in the show. Even better, his parents (whom you also meet in the beginning of the film) are equally as funny, if not funnier, than Raymond’s parents in the show.

Just like a stereotypical American tourist, Rosenthal experiences major culture shock when he arrives in Russia. His confusion for Russian culture first begins when his driver unexpectedly jumps out of the car without explanation only to come back in moments later like nothing had happened. Roshenthal’s reaction to this strange happening had the audience bursting out in laughter. This  only marked the beginning of the absurdity he would go on to endure.

What makes Exporting Raymond so great is Rosenthal’s ability to see the hilarity in such mundane situations as well as the fact that he is more than willing to make fun of himself. As I mentioned before, Rosenthal has a rather awkward personality which causes him to have humorous interactions with people, whether he intends to or not. He does a brilliant job of making light of these interactions in the film.

Rosenthal’s clever use of editing creates a perfectly dramatic effect on everyday occurrences. What some might construe as normal or insignificant, Rosenthal is able to humorize in a very creative way. He does this by either focusing in on peoples’ facial expressions throughout the film or adding dramatic music after strange something happens.

For instance, Rosenthal comes across a rather snooty costume designer while collaborating with the Russian TV producers and is able to portray her pompous attitude in an absolutely hilarious way. The costume designer is constantly arguing with Rosenthal that the character of “Debra” on the show should be dressed nicely, when in reality she is meant to appear as an average housewife. When Rosenthal graciously attempts to explain this to her she simply does not want to hear it. After Rosenthal tries to come to some type of understanding with her, the costume designer typically just stares at him with disgust. Rosenthal uses this to the film’s advantage and focuses in on her discerning face and adds music to make it more intense. This proves to be an incredibly funny aspect throughout the film.

Exporting Raymond clearly demonstrates that movies and even documentaries can portray raw and real humor. Sometimes we are unaware of the humor in many situations but Rosenthal does an excellent job of reminding us that it is always there.