There are certain constants in every year’s Ramadan, and just like Konafa and family gatherings are on top of the list, Adel Emam is as well. We have grown to love this effortlessly hilarious comedian in whatever work he presents. Annually his Ramadan Series reaches almost every single Egyptian home, entertaining the whole family. But in the past few years, it seems as though increasingly we have been watching him out of tradition rather than interest.
For many years the great actor has partnered up with Youssef Maati, the well-known author and scriptwriter who has written him a fair share of his works including “Fre2et Nagi Atallah”, “ElAraf”, and “Saheb Elsaada”, but is the couple that used to be the perfect matchup starting to lose their special flavor? This Ramadan, Adel Emam returns with “Afaret Adly Alam” a series that revolves around an old book-obsessed man discovering a book with mysterious codes and magic symbols, unwittingly conjuring a Jinn that changes his life. The story proceeds as he tries to get rid of her in an attempt to go back to his normal life.
Settling for a smaller cast, this series starrs Hala Sedky, Ghada Adel, Mai Omar and only a few others. One of the most noticeable parts of the whole production is the over-the-top and over-played character of Adly Alam’s wife played by Hala. In attempting to give her a scary look, the character’s clothing, hair and makeup are just far too much, making her look ridiculous rather than funny most of the time.
With a less strong storyline, the only thing to rely on here is the dialogue but unfortunately when watching Adly Alam you can easily anticipate the next joke he is about to utter because you have heard it a million times before. No, it is not Dejavu, it is the fact that once again the great comedian and his all-time favorite author have resorted to the same pickup lines, facial expressions and comedy setups to build their story.
“Adel Emam repeats himself but we all love him just like that,” actor Ahmed Fishawy recently said on the “Ana w Ana” TV series. Whilst this is something that is very true, it doesn’t seem to be very applicable this Ramadan. In the past we were used to Adel Emam repeating characters but not the dialogue. We were used to having him as the ultimate main character with every single event revolving around him but not when that character is as monotonous as Adly Alam.
But then again, maybe we are feeling this way because the amusing pair; Adel Emam and Youssef Maati have given us everything they can offer and so settling for poor comedy now seems unreasonable. Adel Emam will always be the great Adel Emam contributing to how special Ramadan is, however it might be time for some fresh blood and a change of crew. Imagine what the outcome of a collaboration between Adel Emam and younger scriptwriters likes Sherif Naguib or even Hesham Maged and Chico would be like!