Bordering on Bad Behavior is a dark comedy starring Tom Sizemore as Bob a goofy, redneck American GI who while working on a top secret mission with Israeli alley Ari (Oz Zehavi). Unfortunately for Baz (Bernard Curry), an Australian-born Lebanese soldier who accidentally stumbles upon his enemies in their communications facility.
What happens next sets up the plot in that as Baz attempts to escape after beating up his enemies, he accidentally trips the lock down mechanism, which shuts the entire facility in for 6-hours. Now there is a racist, a Jew and a Lebanese stuck in one building as they try not to kill each other.
I found this movie to be hysterical, it also helps that my mother is Lebanese and I know this conflict all too well. However, my biggest issue with the film is being called an, “Arab.” Lebanese people are descendents of the Phoenicians who originated in Crete. Just because we speak what most call, “Franco-Arab” a mix of French and Arabic doesn’t make us either French or Arab, the same way speaking English in the United States doesn’t makes us British. Also, I would have preferred to see someone like Nick E. Tarabay, who is actually Lebanese play Baz instead of an Australian.
Beyond that, the film was pretty spot on, especially regarding race relations, including the word, “Semite.” Writer, Ziggy Darwish, was spot on in addressing this issue because the term “anti-Semitic” has become synonymous with “anti-Judaism” or “anti-Zionism.” The western world has forgotten that Lebanese, Egyptians, Assyrians, Chaldeans and yes, Arabs, are all Semitic peoples as well.
The clip below emphasizes this situation and still makes the error of calling the Lebanese guy an Arab. However, all the racial slurs that Bob uses in the clip, I have been called each and every single one of them, no matter the strawberry blond hair (before it fell out), the blue eyes and light olive skin tone.
If you can’t handle the truth, or are overly politically correct or just a big wuss who have no idea how the rest of the world works, avoid Bordering on Bad Behavior. However, if you actually want a comedic insight that could help open up dialogue between various nationalities and takes a quirky look at the crisis in the Middle East, then definitely give it a watch.
Prepare to be uncomfortable or tickled as Bordering on Bad Behavior drops on DVD, Tuesday, May 19, 2015.
