It's no secret that Americans can be very self-centered. We assume that everyone in the world wants what we have, including entertainment. Yes, we have the "Best Foreign Film" category at the Oscars, and every once in a while you run into someone who loves foreign movies, but otherwise, all we hear about is the "international gross" of American movies and how our films are accepted overseas. We seem to pay little heed to foreign entertainment or how American products are accepted in other countries. The documentary Exporting Raymond not only explores how American media is viewed in other countries, but how our shows are integrated into foreign cultures.

Exporting Raymond follows the adventures of Philip Rosenthal, who, along with Ray Romano, helped to create Everybody Loves Raymond. When the show ended in 2005, Rosenthal was approached about creating a version of the show for Russian television. So, he traveled to Russia to meet with the creative team behind the show, which will be known as "Everybody Loves Kostya". Rosenthal is excited about the opportunity, but he quickly learns that things are done very differently in Russia -- the facilities are decrepit, the writers work on multiple shows, and comedy doesn't always translate. However, Rosenthal perseveres, as he's convinced that his show contains universal themes. As the work progresses, Rosenthal meets many interesting people, including his driver and the various crew members.

Exporting Raymond is a documentary which appears to cover just one topic, but it actually covers several. For me, the most interesting revelation was that several American shows, including Who's the Boss? and Married with Children have been adapted for Russian television. Perhaps the most amazing revelation is that Sony has been able to create versions of The Nanny in many countries around the world, including Russia. (I mean, I used to watch the show, mostly for Niles the butler, but I never imagined it being an international phenomenon.) Based on this knowledge, it doesn't seem all that far-fetched that Sony would want to try and take a show as popular as Everybody Loves Raymond to Russia.

From there, the film becomes a "fish out of water" piece as Rosenthal, an Emmy-award winning producer of a very successful show on American TV, tries to understand and navigate the Russian television system. One would assume that the language barrier would be there, but Rosenthal quickly runs into cultural issues. He's flown all the way to Russia to learn that the people there aren't all that crazy about the Raymond scripts because they don't necessarily translate to the Russian way of life.

So, Exporting Raymond works as a drama and a comedy. Rosenthal is a naturally funny guy and he really runs with the "I don't know what I'm doing here" act. We watch as he goes from one befuddling event to another, trying desperately to hold onto his creation and his sanity. Rosenthal drops some good one liners and it's obvious that those around him have no idea what he is saying. Rosenthal the director brings intrigue and some suspense to his own true story, as we want to see the movie through until the end to see if the show will ever make it into existence. There is also drama here, as Rosenthal learns about Russian culture. The life story of his driver, Eldar, is very moving and quite sad. Rosenthal learns that TV isn't the only thing that's different in Russia, while he also realizes that people everywhere all want the same things.

The literal definition of a documentary is to document an event, and that's exactly what Rosenthal has done with Exporting Raymond. The movie gets a little redundant at times as Rosenthal spins his wheels, and it leaves some questions unanswered, but it tackles a very unique subject and does it well.

Exporting Raymond makes me want to see a Russian version of Family Guy on DVD courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is sharp and clear, but, being a documentary, there are some mild problems. There is some slight grain at times, but there are no overt defects from the source materials. Shot verite style, we get some blurring from camera movement and some "blowout" when bright lights suddenly appear. Colors look good and despite some changes in light level, the image is never overly dark. I did detect some mild artifacting. The DVD carries a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which provides clear dialogue and sound effects. This documentary features a better audio track than some action films that I've seen recently. There are standard shots of a planes flying overhead to illustrate Phil's travels, and these shots offers great surround sound effects. The stereo effects are nicely done, as we get a good sense of what's going on around Phil. The dialogue can be hard to understand at times, but these scenes are subtitled.

The Exporting Raymond DVD contains a few extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Writer/Director Phil Rosenthal. The DVD contains nine DELETED SCENES which run about 11 minutes. These are all brief, and simply show more of Rosenthal's trials and tribulations. A scene in a bakery with the documentary crew really stands out. "Old Jews Tell Jokes: "Restaurant" by Max Rosenthal (1 minutes) has Phil's dad telling a joke -- a pretty lame joke. In a very interesting move, we get two full-length episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond and two full-length episodes of Everybody Loves Kostya, each based on the same script, so that we can compare and contrast them. These are the same two episodes which are discussed in the film. The final extra is the TRAILER for the film.