"A Hologram for the King" is an idiosyncratic comedy-drama that has its certain charms, not the least of which is a leading-actor turn by Tom Hanks.

It's been awhile since we've seen Hanks in a light comedy role, other than his wonderful voicing of Woody in the "Toy Story" animated features ("Toy Story 4" is set for release in 2018), where he can let down his guard.In "A Hologram for the King," Hanks gets to chomp on some comedic scenery as Alan Clay, a Boston sales executive who's "been on the bench for a while" and forgets "this ain't the Schwinn days," trying to close an Information Technology deal that includes a hologram system for a new city being built in Saudi Arabia by the king.Clay travels there with three of the company's tech-savvy employees, befriends a taxi driver, Yousef (Alexander Black in his theatrical movie debut) and that leads to all kinds of interesting excursions.Clay develops an ailment, is seen by a female medical doctor, Zahra (Sarita Choudhury, "The Hunger Games"; TV's "Homeland") and that leads to even more discoveries.While I'm no Middle East expert, "A Hologram for the King" seems to truck in Muslim, Saudi Arabia and Middle East stereotypes. The film redeems itself, but several scenes are squirm-inducing in what I perceived as a disdainful, demeaning and making sport portrayal of Saudi Arabians."A Hologram for the King" is directed by Tom Tykwer (who directed one of my all-time favorites, "Run Lola Run," 1998). While "Hologram" starts out great (Hanks lip-synching the Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime"), the film languishes into a meandering, if entertaining, morass. Tykwer wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Dave Eggers."A Hologram for the King" is basically Willy of the desert (Willy Loman, "Death of a Salesman" by playwright Arthur Miller).The film has fascinating traveloguelike glimpses into a world with which few of us are familiar, with beautiful cinematography and snappy editing by Tykwer collaborators, director of photography Frank Griebe, and editor Alexander Berner, and energy-pumping pop-rock songs (Chicago, Electric Light Orchestra).And there's that performance by Hanks (reteaming with Tykwer, who directed him in "Cloud Atlas," 2012). With four vertical furrows in his brow, a wry twist to his pouty lips, decades of disappointment in his eyes, and that nasal sincerity in his voice, Hanks projects a world-weary soul. Hanks fans won't want to miss "A Hologram for the King.""A Hologram for the King,"MPAA Rated R (Restricted. Children Under 17 Require Accompanying Parent or Adult Guardian.) for some sexuality-nudity, language and brief drug use; Genre: Comedy, Drama; Run Time: 1 hr., 38 min.; Distributed by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.Credit Readers Anonymous:"A Hologram for the King" was filmed in Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Germany studios and Boston.Box Office,April 29: "The Jungle Book" made it a three-peat, No. 1 for three consecutive weeks, with a continuing strong $42.4 million, $252 million, three weeks, as "The Huntsman: Winter's War" continued at No. 2, way behind with $9.3 million, $33.9 million, two weeks, and "Keanu," the Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele comedy, could only scratch up $9.4 million, opening at No. 3, with "Mother's Day" opening at No. 4 with only $8.3 million;5. "Barbershop: The Next Cut," $6.1 million; $44.7 million, three weeks; 6. "Zootopia," $5 million, $323.5 million, nine weeks; 7. "Ratchet & Clank," $4.8 million, opening; 8. "The Boss," $4.2 million, $56.1 million, four weeks; 9. "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," $3.8 million, $325.1 million, six weeks; 10. "Criminal," $1.4 million, $13.5 million, three million.Unreel,May 6:"Captain America: Civil War,"PG-13: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo direct Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan in the science-fiction adventure film about the Avengers' beef between Captain America and Iron Man."A Bigger Splash,"R: Luca Guadagnino directs Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson and Ralph Fiennes in the crime-drama about the vacation of a rock star and a filmmaker that is interrupted by the visit of an old friend and his daughter."Pelé: Birth of a Legend,"PG: Jeff Zimbalist and Michael Zimbalist direct Vincent D'Onofrio, Rodrigo Santoro, Diego Boneta and Colm in a biopic based on the life of Brazilian football legend Pelé."Dark Horse,"PG: Louise Osmond directs the documentary about friends from a working-class club in Wales, United Kingdom, who breed a racehorse.Two popcorn boxes out of five popcorn boxes.