The Student Cop

Wael Ehsan's 2004 Egyptian film moves a familiar setup into a local setting. A young police officer is placed inside a university disguised as a student to expose a drug network operating there. He makes friends on campus, sits through lectures and falls for a girl, and the contradiction between the secrecy of the assignment and the real relationships he forms is the film's material. Karim Abdel Aziz's comedy rests on gesture and timing, and the action sequences run to whatever the genre requires. It was a large commercial success and one of the most watched Egyptian comedies of the 2000s. The script does not surprise; its aim is to execute the familiar well. Who it's for: viewers who like Arab popular cinema and undercover comedies. Who it's not for: anyone wanting an unpredictable plot and a realistic account of policing.