I know plot doesn’t move without some help, but did you have to make the failed American businessman sooooo insensitve? Alan (Tom Hanks) is, for a company representative, a cultural buffoon. He is less prepared to be in Saudi Arabia than Forrest Gump was prepared to be a small business owner.
Let’s explore some common sense world travel ground rules, shall we? *Unless you are explicitly told not to, try to show up on time for appointments. *If there are signs saying, “___________ ONLY” and you do not belong to the group of ___________, don’t proceed beyond the signs. *If the country you are in prohibits [certain food, activity, behavior], then try your best not to engage in [food,activity,behavior]. This all seems pretty universal, does it not? Picture how tourists behave in your country and then consider how offended you might be if, I dunno, say somebody from, say, Chechnya visited the United States, hunted a bald eagle and while eating it, used Old Glory as a napkin. One man’s “seems ok to me” is another man’s taboo.
And then, of course, Alan kids about being CIA in a Muslim nation. Boy, there’s a good move. Oh, and what is with the Danes? They’re even worse here. Pen up the lot in an alcohol-free nation and, given an ounce of me-time, they’re worse than Catholic boys in their first year away from home.
I’ll back up. Alan is a forcibly humbled salesman with a pitch for the king of Saudi Arabia. Once in the kingdom, however, nothing is right. His internal clock is screwed up to the point where he needs to hire a driver, Yousef (Alexander Black); the pitch is scheduled for a tent in a remote ghost town; the facilities are inadequate and his host keeps giving him the runaround. Is this a repayment for Alan’s rudeness within the kingdom? Possibly.
And there’s a lump on his back the size of a golf ball. Terrific.
A Hologram for the King is essentially just a culture clash film, an exploration of how much trouble a random American can find in Saudi Arabia without necessarily looking for it. In a way, this is very similar to Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, but buoyed by a (relatively) healthy respect for the hosts where WTF showed 
very little. The humor works better here, too – like when Yousef takes precautions for a car bomb – not that he knows anything about the subject, not because such is common in the kingdom, nor because of his association with an American, but because of his relationship with a rich man’s wife (paraphrasing) – “is this the sort of thing [the husband] would do?” “I don’t know; would you bomb a car if you were rich?”
On the one hand, this film is respectful to the culture and people of Saudi Arabia and yet contains certain moments that I know any good Saudi Muslim would find very objectionable. In this theme, it’s the polar opposite of WTF, which respected the Afghani war, but showed not but a smattering of grudging respect for the Afghani people themselves. There’s a lot to find fault in A Hologram for the King; it isn’t kind to American business practice, Saudi business practice, Westerners abroad or manners in general, so if it’s anybody but Tom Hanks at the helm, I think I’d let the issues win. As is, I’m saying they don’t matter as much here.
♪Come they told me
Dumb dumb dumb dumb
Show your stuff for He
Dumb dumb dumb dumb
I got drunk in Saudi
Dumb dumb dumb dumb
I tried self surgery
Dumb dumb dumb dumb
Dumb dumb dumb dumb
Dumb dumb dumb dumb
Got the runaround
Dumb dumb dumb dumb
The king could not be found
Dumb dumb dumb dumb
Did things that were not sound
Dumb dumb dumb dumb
To customs I’m not bound
Dumb dumb dumb dumb
Dumb dumb dumb dumb
Dumb dumb dumb dumb♫
Rated R, 88 Minutes
D: Tom Tykwer
W: Tom Tykwer
Genre: Bridge of spires
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Cultural omnivores
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Saudi Arabians, I imagine
♪ Parody inspired by “Little Drummer Boy”
