Tributes and Pop-Culture mockery in Mekki’s “La Taragoa Wala Esteslam” A review of Ahmed Mekki’s latest film starring; Donia Samir Ghanem and Maged El Kedwany

In well over three years, Ahmed Mekki has managed to establish himself as a frontrunner in the Comedic panorama in Egypt, competing with stars like Ahmed Helmy and even outshining the old forefathers like Heneidy and Saad. And there is a good reason for that. Since his first ever starring role in “H-Dabbour”, Mekki strived to put his own mark on the world of comedy, putting a distance between him and the goofy type of humor that characterized Heneidy and Saad and resorting more to the witty, sarcastic type of humor that proved very successful among the audience. And with his latest film, “La Taragoa Wala Esteslam”, he truly claims this type of humor as his own.

The film opens with a very-hyped action sequence featuring Adham (Mekki), the right-hand man of a drug lord called Azaam (Ezzat Abou Ouf). In typical action fashion, the drug transaction goes all wrong and turns into a bloodbath, resulting in the murder of Adham and leaving the police with virtually no idea on how to infiltrate Azaam’s circles.

Enter Sirag Sirag Sirag Mounir (El-Kedwany), head of the “Secret Office of the Secret Administration for Fighting Secret Crimes.” Withholding the news of Azaam’s assassination from the press, Mounir comes up with a nifty idea: finding a look-alike replacement of Adham to blow Azaam’s cover. Aided by a peculiar Australian plastic surgeon, Mounir finds his prey in Hazla’oum, an unemployed ginger-haired, squeaky-voiced commoner.

With zero talent and a supernatural knack for stupidity, the process of Hazla’oum’s make-over proves challenging and at times, very tiresome. Much to the annoyance of Azaam’s secretary/police informant Germaine (Ghanem) who, nonetheless, gradually starts to warm to his kindheartedness (don’t they all?).

Eventually, Hazla’oum must learn to take responsibility, find a meaning to his worthless existence and embrace his inner idiocy.

“No Surrender” wastes no time in establishing itself as a spoof, and the film has no shortage of film references; from El Kedwany’s character name (a nod to great Egyptian actor Sirag Mounir) to the hilarious dream sequence of Ghassan Mattar, the famously brooding theatrical who explains how directors have always stereotype him in the villain role.

A mischievous satire of Egyptian action flicks, “No Surrender” is easily the most enjoyable Egyptian entertainment of the summer (which doesn’t actually say much, considering the below-average quality of the nine measly productions released over the past three months). But at least, Mekki manages to redefine the scope of humor in the Egyptian Comic landscape.