Albert Brooks is a totally underrated filmmaker. He may be best known for his role in “Broadcast News” (for which he was nominated for an Oscar) and for voicing the Daddy fish in “Finding Nemo,” but for the last twenty-five years, Brooks has been making small, sharply observed comedy classics. He’s been called the West Coast Woody Allen, and that’s not entirely off the mark. Like Allen, Brooks has built a career out of being a funny, intellectual, neurotic Jew, writing, directing and starring in a handful of small, witty treasures.

While not the most prolific of all filmmakers, he’s none the less created some truly great films. There’s “Lost in America,” in which he and his yuppie wife (Julie Hagerty) sell their belongings to travel the country in an RV. The afterlife comedy “Defending Your Life” takes place in the limbo between death and heaven and co-stars Meryl Streep. And there’s “Mother,” which finds Brooks moving back in with his overbearing mom (Debbie Reynolds) in an attempt to rectify his writer’s block. There are others too, but these are our faves.

Brooks’ latest flick is called “Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World,” which, due to its controversial subject matter, was dropped by Sony before being picked up by Warner Independent Pictures. In the film, Brooks plays a comedian, who, in a bid to improve international relations, is hired by the U.S. government to discover what makes the Muslim people laugh. You can check out the trailer here. And to tide you over until its release date, why not have yourself a little Albert Brooks film festival, a Brookstival if you will! Don’t worry, he never makes any jokes that lame.

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