Aliyev, Texas — Mohamed Amer fires up his black Mercedes and points to the corner across from Aliyev Middle School. The place had meaning.
“That’s where I learned how to play Dozen,” he said, referring to the age-old game of combatants insulting each other’s mothers as they exited the school parking lot.
“At first, I took it very personally,” said Amer, who immigrated from Kuwait when she was nine. What’s Happening in America? Then I realized it was just a big bonding experience. And that’s what introduced me to comedy. “
It’s a good time to be Amell, who goes by the name Mo, a Palestinian-American comedian who grew up in this diverse, working-class Houston suburb. His new scripted series ‘Mo’ will premiere on his Netflix on August 24th. He has a role in the action fantasy movie ‘Black Adam’ starring Dwayne Johnson. The youthful 41-year-old is starting to reap the benefits of his years busting his tail in the world of comedy.
But even though he now lives in downtown Houston a few miles away, Aliyev is always at home. This is where he discovered what it felt like to live in a community defined by its diversity: Black, Mexican, Vietnamese. As you drive through Aliyev, you can see strip he malls crammed with businesses equivalent to the United Nations. It’s a Vietnamese restaurant next to a Mexican grocery store next to a Parisian bakery.
Born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents, Amer was terrified when he first came to America after his family fled Kuwait during the first Gulf War. But he soon found friends from all over the world and never really left.
He speaks English, Arabic and Spanish and his character in the new show is also called Mo. He finds humor in the tension that distinguishes his various identities. In “Mo,” his girlfriend, Maria (Teresa Ruiz), is a Mexican-American woman who runs a garage. (In fact, it was inspired by a shop owned by a Mexican-American woman.) But he knows his mother (played by a Palestinian Jordanian) not just because of his low self-esteem. are afraid to commit because actress Farrar Bieso) does not approve.
When Maria takes him to confession at a Catholic church, he tells the priest (played by local hip-hop legend Van B) that he is a Muslim and that the iconography of the crucifix really surprised him. He then breaks down in tears.
“In many ways, Mo is a melting pot,” says the Egyptian-American star and creator of the Hulu comedy “Ramy,” who co-created “Mo” with Amer. Youssef also cast Amell in a supporting role in “Rummy” as a diner owner.
“I don’t mean to use the word tired, but he’s literally multicultural,” Youssef continued. Speaking of his friend’s analogy, Amer corrected: Everyone loses their identity in a melting pot. In the salad bowl everything retains its original taste. “
Alief’s Houston area also has an above-average crime rate, and “Mo” reflects this reality. At one point, Mo accuses the grocery store of having chocolate his hummus (“It’s a war crime”). Then he catches a stray bullet that grazes his arm. Without insurance, he went to something like a chop shop doctor who stitched him up and put him in a potentially deadly mixture of codeine cough syrup and soda, long popular in the Houston hip-hop scene. (This was a factor in the overdose deaths of Houston hip-hop favorite DJ Screw and Pimp C from nearby Port Arthur.) Fight addiction.
Amer would like to clarify one thing. I don’t drink red meat. However, much like his character, he used to sell knockoff luxury goods, including fake Rolex watches, out of the trunk of his car.
“There were a lot of drug dealers in the neighborhood who liked fancy stuff and didn’t necessarily want to spend $10,” he said. That included a woman in his old apartment who sold frozen Kool-Aid pops for a quarter.
Seeing “Mo” and meeting Amer is to wonder where the artist and his work diverge. Many of the key details in the series are true to life. Amer was a child when he arrived in Aliyev with his family from Kuwait. His father, who was an engineer at Telecom, died of a heart attack shortly afterwards. And it took Amer 20 years to obtain asylum and US citizenship. This process is dramatized and often humorously portrayed in the series. ).
Amer exudes a sense of authenticity, a quality that endears him to the cast. “He’s very honest and sincere,” he said on a video call, Bsieso. “He doesn’t try to fake anything. He reaches the heart and soul of anyone who hears him, sees him, or works with him.”
In his stand-up work and “Mo,” Amer’s comedy is shot through with a sense of unease, sometimes playful, sometimes more serious. In his comedy specials, including last year’s “Mo Amer: Mohammed in Texas,” his voice raises concern and even confusion whenever he tackles touchy topics (Covid-19, his recent divorce). . Mo is often flustered as he navigates his life in his series. Vulnerability is an important part of his work.
“I was insecure most of my life, but I think comedy is how I was able to communicate that,” he said. Up gives you a space to express how you feel at any given moment, and in Stand Up you spend most of your life trying to not only improve, but to outdo yourself. Imagine a wall, and each time you step on stage, you chip away at the wall until you have nothing but the audience in front of you.”
Youssef sees Mo in the series as a sort of alternate universe Amer.
“I think a lot of the antics that happen on the show are fantasies of what would have happened if Mo hadn’t found comedy,” he said. “What if that wasn’t his way and what he was doing? Life turns left or right at this juncture. The fun thing about making shows is, ‘What if I go left?’ ?”. And he gets to write it.
Amer drives to Hastings, an old high school just a stone’s throw from another high school, Elsik. R&B star Lizzo went to her Elsik. So did Beyonce, who filmed the video for her song “Blow” right down the street at the Houston Funplex, an indoor amusement park and roller rink.
Another Elsik alumnus, rapper Tobe Nwigwe, plays Mo’s best friend Nick on the show. ‘Mo’ is a real neighborhood affair, filmed in a set location. In that respect, it sets itself apart from many films and series set in Texas, filming in neighboring states (New Mexico, Louisiana) to take advantage of more generous tax benefits. often be Amer is very proud of his home base. It’s practically a character in the series. He had no intention of shooting in Albuquerque.
The most compelling conflict in “Mo” is that of modernity versus tradition. Moe loves hip hop, and the soundtrack features a number of Houston artists, including DJ Screw, Big His Moe, and Paul He Wall, who makes an amusing cameo as a courthouse security guard. He loves his assimilated girlfriend. However, he is also a Muslim and values his faith and family.
“He’s modern, but deeply connected to his roots. Especially in his position where he’s basically penniless and trying to maintain dignity and juggle all these emotions. “He’s definitely a modern person with an old-fashioned mindset.”
He’s a salad bowl. Welcome to the party! Please don’t bring the chocolate hummus.