An Unconventional Hero Uses Comedy to Fight Hollywood Stereotypes

A Middle Eastern hero starring in an American comedy film is no ordinary save-the-day tale.

In the Indiegogo-funded film Jimmy Vestvood, Amerikan Hero, comedian Maz Jobrani plays an Iranian hero named Jimmy, who hails from Westwood, Calif., known as the capital of the Iranian diaspora in the United States. ("Vestvood" pokes fun at the Iranian accent, which typically puts a "v" sound ahead of certain words starting with consonants.) Jimmy is no conventional hero, though; the private investigator with a burly mustache has a flair for solving Hitchcockian murder mysteries while hiding his adventures from his overprotective mother. Read more...