Borat Review
by Mark R. Leeper (mleeper AT optonline DOT net)November 8th, 2006
BORAT!: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE
BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: Wretched. Just wretched. Rating: low -2
(-4 to +4) or 1/10
The film BORAT!: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN, henceforth just to be called BORAT, apparently got a very positive reception at the Toronto International Film Festival. It rates an impressive 8.5 rating out of 10 from the Internet Movie Database. At the Rotten- Tomatoes site 135 out of 141 critics, including all the "cream of the crop" critics give the film a thumbs-up. The film has been lauded on National Public Radio.
I felt impelled to tell you all the honors just to be fair. What did I think of the film? It was horrible. I think the studio is promoting it because it cost next to nothing to make and will probably reap a big profit in relation to its cost. But I never thought I would say this about a film intended to poke fun at bigotry. My recommendation is to stay away. Dreadful hardly seems to cover this film. BORAT is a barrage of is one stupid vulgarity after another. I will not claim that nothing was funny, but I can honestly say that there was little I found to chuckle at.
And while I feel no special loyalty (or enmity) to the Kazakhs, but this film really does slander them as much as Polack jokes slander the Polish. Adding more bigoted shock humor to the world does not fight bigotry. Actually, the National Conference on Soviet Jewry says about the country, "Anti-Semitism is not
prevalent in Kazakhstan and rare incidents are reported in the press. None have been reported in the last two years." For more on the lot that Borat gets wrong and the little (but admittedly some) he gets right see
<http://www.slate.com/id/2152789/fr/rss/>. Sacha Baron Cohen's goal is purely low-grade shock humor, not accurate reportage. Along the way we learn most Americans will choose politeness over confrontation when faced with bigotry. Now there is a big
surprise. That fact may be regrettable, but there are far worse faults.
The plot suggests that Borat is an envoy from Kazakhstan who has been sent to the United States to learn American ways. He
travels as a stranger visiting people and events, reminiscent of Andrei Cordescu's ROAD SCHOLAR, but rather than making
philosophical observations, Borat (played by Sacha Baron Cohen) makes boorish comments and does even more boorish things
supposedly reflecting on his fictional Kazakh upbringing and viewpoint.
This film appears to be reality TV in the same sense that "Candid Camera" was. It just creates a bunch of repulsive situations and catches people's reactions. Whether or not the bystanders were tipped off to the joke ahead of time is left as a matter of speculation. At one point a meeting of mortgage brokers is invaded by Borat and an obese friend having a nude wrestling match in their midst. That is how Kazakhs behave, I suppose. Real funny stuff there, Sacha. Not.
I firmly believe that if history has taught us anything it is these three principles:
1) You do not understand your enemy you cannot hope for victory. 2) Appeasement will not eliminate a foe.
3) Film comedies based on TV skits are not worth the effort.
BORAT was just not on my wavelength. If this film is on your wavelength, perhaps you need to recalibrate. I rate BORAT a low -2 on the -4 to +4 scale or 1/10.
Mark R. Leeper
[email protected]
Copyright 2006 Mark R. Leeper
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
