Borat Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)October 20th, 2006
BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
Not since JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK has such an outrageous comedy provoked such a strong, positive response from audiences. (THE ARISTOCRATS was an equally out-there comedy, which I found pathetic, so taking risks can produce something unwatchable rather than hilarious. It's a fine line.)
BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN is a fish-out-of-water story starring Sacha Baron Cohen, as Borat Sagdiyev, a likeable doofus with no social graces who leaves Kazakhstan in order to visit America. Once in New York, he starts heading west with the goal of reaching BaywatchLand and marrying Pamela Anderson. Reportedly and understandably, this film was a big hit at this year's Toronto International Film Festival.
Told mockumentary style, the movie follows Borat and his pudgy partner, Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davitian), as they shock the locals, who all appear as if they are real people and not actors. Full of as many politically incorrect moments as possible, the jokes are anti-Semitic, homophobic, and just about every other bad thing imaginable. Most of them are very funny, and, if you don't like one joke, the next one, in this fast paced comedy, will arrive seconds later. Our theater was filled with constant and loud laughter that rarely had time to die down before the next wave of guffaws started.
Cohen brings such energetic charisma to his role that he makes situations side-splittingly funny that will have your friends staring in disbelief at you later should you attempt to describe why you found the film funny. A Muslim, Borat is scared of the Jews. His village celebrates this fear in the same way that Pamplona does with the bulls; it has an annual "Running of the Jew" race through town with the Jew in question being a large mannequin of sorts.
Moving right on from that disquieting moment, Borat has advice for one of his friends as Borat leaves town in order to visit America, admonishing him, "not too much rape -- [and] humans only."
Once in New York, Borat tries to greet everyone. But, as you can imagine, going up to strangers in the subway and wanting to kiss both of their cheeks isn't something than Manhattaners easily embrace. Once in his small hotel room, he begins to unpack until the bellman explains they are in the elevator, not his room. Not one to be pushed around, Borat insists that he will not accept a smaller room.
Some especially funny sequences occur when Borat is trained in American humor and etiquette by experts in their respective fields. Borat in the center of a dinner party making small talk to the locals is just exactly the riotous disaster than you think it would be. Borat is a very stupid guy who does very stupid things, but the comedian who plays him manages to successfully make this ridiculousness entertaining and amusing rather than just, well, stupid.
As Borat and Azamat drive an old ice cream truck -- it's all they could afford -- through America, we follow their progress on one of those hokey, old maps with red lines drawn through where they have been.
You will certainly laugh a lot, but will you still respect yourself in the morning? Maybe. Maybe not. For me, it proved to be a risk well worth taking.
BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN runs a very fast 1:22. It is rated R for "pervasive strong crude and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language" and would be acceptable for older teenagers.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, November 3, 2006. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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