Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Fakenapping’ on Netflix, a Saudi Arabian comedic caper about an inside-job kidnapping

Middle Eastern director Amine Lakhnech makes his feature debut with the Netflix comedy The Fakenapping starring the acclaimed Saudi Arabian star Mohammed Aldokhei. Should you stream this Arabic-language film this weekend, or save your time and skip it?

The Gist:  Sattam (Mohammed Aldokhei) is a serial entrepreneur with a low hit rate, but a drive to succeed any way he can. After getting caught up with loan sharks who demand their money back at gunpoint, Sattam concocts a new plan: hire a friend to kidnap his wealthy father and hold him for ransom in order to pay back his debt. Of course, things do not go as planned and Sattam has to confront his choices and his family when the truth about the “fakenapping” comes to light.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? The offbeat and absurdist vibes reminded me of the indie film Four Samosas about an amateur jewelry heist gone wrong.

Performance Worth Watching: Yazeed Almajyul is a fun foil to Aldokhei as the man hired to carry out the kidnapping, initially seen as an ally before realizing he has the power in the situation. 

Sex And Skin: The plot doesn’t concern itself with romance, so there’s no sex or skin to speak of.  

Our Take: Sometimes the cost of dreaming big will hit you right where it hurts. For Sattam, The Fakenapping’s protagonist, his series of professional failures has led him into desperation. He borrows money from those with deep pockets, but is unable to pay them back, putting his young daughter at risk. Sattam isn’t exactly a hyper-moral person so he does what any desperate person would do in that situation: hold his wealthy and unsupportive father for ransom. 

The Fakenapping is a mostly fun ride as Sattam navigates a crime he certainly should have put more thought and research into. He has to juggle his now-double life, posing as a concerned son among his more straight-and-narrow siblings while also pulling the strings as the mastermind behind the scenes. The film’s ending is smart, honing in on the idea that some people never change and that people like Sattam may never change—even when they should. But in drawing this dichotomy in Sattam’s life, the story could have spent more time showing the relationship between Sattam and his family, who tell us that he’s an outcast but don’t go into too many details about the many ways he’s surely let them down in the past. 

But if you are open to classic hijinks and bumbling amateur criminals, The Fakenapping is an enjoyable and comedic ride.

Our Call: STREAM IT. The Fakenapping is a silly and enjoyable comedy of errors.

Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a film and TV-obsessed writer based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Vulture, Teen Vogue, ELLE.com, and more. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.