Don’t let the faux-hand-lettering fool you, Juno-naysayers:
Outsourced isn’t the “quirky” indie drama its cover implies.
Instead, it’s a formulaic fish-out-water tale. (If you’re going to
pooh-pooh something, pooh-pooh fairly.) Here, our uncomfortable fish is
Todd (Josh Hamilton), an American kitsch salesman sent to train a
call-centre full of lower-cost labourers in India, after his company
moves its order-centre overseas. As expected, Todd soon learns some
sage cultural/life lessons. Still, Outsourced is relatively
charming—and its playful depiction of India’s “celebration of colour”
will make you want to throw some paint.
This article appears in Aug 6-12, 2009.