Outsourced

A SIFF favorite from 2007, Outsourced has all the charm and color of its made-in-India locations, yet it’s crafted—well crafted—according to familiar Hollywood convention. Local director John Jeffcoat and co-writer George Wing took the DIY route with their eminently salable script, in which an unhappy Seattle yuppie (Josh Hamilton) goes to train his replacement in India, where he meets a cute girl (Ayesha Dharker) who causes him to reconsider his workaholic life. Yes, there are wandering cows, weird food, and the inevitable diarrhea jokes, but Outsourced has a gentle touch with the obvious fish-out-of-water touchstones. Dharker, who labors in a cow-infested call center, is winning—promote that woman to The Office already! And though we can imagine Hollywood adapting the rom-com starring, say, Luke Wilson and Salma Hayek (with Hindu bindi, no doubt), like the cheerfully ragged, flooded, cross-wired call center that Hamilton eventually builds in Gharapuri—complete with shrine in every cubicle!—the low-cost alternative has a lot more character. (PG-13) BRIAN MILLER
Sept. 18-22, 7 & 9:40 p.m.; Sept. 23-25, 9:40 p.m., 2008