Just an awful film and very disappointing for me because I love Tom Hank's films. But he doesn't even look like he wants to be here. He supposedly goes to SA to save a deal with the Saudi gov't. but spends about 5 minutes doing what he was theoretically there for. Mostly he drinks a LOT and repeatedly wakes up late in the hotel (what, this businessman doesn't know to ask the front desk for a wake-up call!?). Aside from the "business" aspects of this movie, i.e., why his character is in Saudi Arabia to begin with (takes up about 10 minutes total in the movie), there is a romantic encounter with a (MARRIED) Saudi woman.
Let me be real clear here. I worked for a year in SA (and my oldest son was actually born there which is another story and a half in itself) and this "romance" would NEVER happen. These folks have known each other for like 2 weeks (timeline is non-existent in this movie) and she goes topless swimming with him? But what is really unbelievable here is that a married Saudi woman (or any Saudi woman) would be alone with him in the first place (forget the driver, they would be Korean, Pakistani, Chinese, etc., i.e, non-persons as far as the Saudis are concerned). She would be completely compromised no matter how innocent she was! I understand she is getting a divorce from her husband but here she is sill married. What would happen in SA if her husband found out about this behavior is very simple - he had the right and he probably would kill her as a matter of honor or, at a minimum, beat her into a coma, and he would never, ever be charged or prosecuted. And even if Hank's character didn't know this, she would, and would never put the two of them in such a dangerously compromising situation.
Save yourself the misery and give this clunker a wide berth.
Let me be real clear here. I worked for a year in SA (and my oldest son was actually born there which is another story and a half in itself) and this "romance" would NEVER happen. These folks have known each other for like 2 weeks (timeline is non-existent in this movie) and she goes topless swimming with him? But what is really unbelievable here is that a married Saudi woman (or any Saudi woman) would be alone with him in the first place (forget the driver, they would be Korean, Pakistani, Chinese, etc., i.e, non-persons as far as the Saudis are concerned). She would be completely compromised no matter how innocent she was! I understand she is getting a divorce from her husband but here she is sill married. What would happen in SA if her husband found out about this behavior is very simple - he had the right and he probably would kill her as a matter of honor or, at a minimum, beat her into a coma, and he would never, ever be charged or prosecuted. And even if Hank's character didn't know this, she would, and would never put the two of them in such a dangerously compromising situation.
Save yourself the misery and give this clunker a wide berth.