diff --git a/themoviedbapi/src/com/moviejukebox/themoviedb/TheMovieDb.java b/themoviedbapi/src/com/moviejukebox/themoviedb/TheMovieDb.java
index 502d4dd62..92776f888 100644
--- a/themoviedbapi/src/com/moviejukebox/themoviedb/TheMovieDb.java
+++ b/themoviedbapi/src/com/moviejukebox/themoviedb/TheMovieDb.java
@@ -98,14 +98,13 @@ public class TheMovieDb {
      */
     public MovieDB moviedbSearch(String movieTitle, String language) {
         MovieDB movie = null;
-        Document doc = null;
-        
-        language = validateLanguage(language);
-        
         // If the title is null, then exit
         if (movieTitle == null || movieTitle.equals(""))
             return movie;
 
+        Document doc = null;
+        language = validateLanguage(language);
+
         try {
             String searchUrl = buildSearchUrl("Movie.search", URLEncoder.encode(movieTitle, "UTF-8"), language);
             doc = DOMHelper.getEventDocFromUrl(searchUrl);