Exporting Raymond

Everybody Loves Raymond was a delightful sitcom that won the audiences’ heart, with its witty dialogues and brilliantly portrayed characters.

Exporting Raymond is a documentary that takes a light-hearted look at this modern cultural phenomenon, and the ramifications of exporting it to some new parts of the globe. This mockumentary comes from the same man who was behind the success of the sitcom. It focuses on the seemingly disastrous aftermaths of the decision to adapt the popular series for the Russian audience. Thus, begins a hilarious journey into a foreign land. What befalls the poor director next may euphemistically be described as the fallout of culture clash. The movie documents the experience of Rosenthal during the making of Voroniny, the Russian language version of Everybody Loves Raymond. Trying his best to put across his view point, Rosenthal encounters some strange situations and people that put a dampener on his ambitions of a fruitful collaboration. What emerges is a heartfelt, sensitive and hilarious picture of a desperate man, driven almost to insanity by the cultural misunderstandings. For people who are known for their melancholic temperament; the henpecked husband in Raymond didn’t really fit into their idea of humor and masculinity.

Thus, begins a process by which Rosenthal gradually loses control of the Russian adaptation, but the biggest surprise emerges when the Russian version goes on to become the biggest hit on Russian television! A movie well-made on a subject never explored – Exporting Raymond!