Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Daniel Castro, Pamela Anderson, Ken Davitian, Alexandra Paul
Directed by: Larry Charles
2006 20th Century Fox Comedy
Borat, subtitled Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, sneaks up on you. Or it will if you're not part of the cult spawned when HBO premiered Cohen's Da Ali G Show in 2003, and Americans first encountered the inspired British comic who hid behind a series of alter egos. His gangsta journalist Ali G tricked politicians (Newt Gingrich, Boutros Boutros-Ghali) and pundits (Gore Vidal, Andy Rooney) into embarrassing and revealing interviews. His Bruno, a gay fashion commentator with a Nazi fetish, claimed to be the voice of Austrian youth. And then there's Borat, the smiling, shamelessly offensive TV reporter from Kazakhstan who takes pride that his sister is "the number-four prostitute in all of country" where a ritual -- "the running of the Jew" -- is celebrated every year ("There you go, kids, crush that Jew egg before it hatches"). Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country in the world, but Cohen is counting on the fact that most Americans know squat about it or him. For the record, Cohen, 35, is nothing like Borat, Bruno, Ali G or Jean Girard, the gay French Formula Un driver who kissed Will Ferrell full on the lips in Talladega Nights. Cohen is a Cambridge scholar from a middle-class and devout Jewish family. Their son, the second of three, wrote his history thesis on the role of Jews in the American civil-rights movement. Not since Little Red Riding Hood have the unsuspecting been duped so hilariously by a big, bad wolf in sheep's clothing.
Borat is such a mind-blowing comedy classic in the making (seeing it once is just not enough) that Cohen's cover will surely be blown after the movie opens. But during the time it took Cohen to put Borat's journey on film with director Larry Charles (he debuted with Bob Dylan's Masked and Anonymous, a title that would also fit snugly here), people lined up, signed releases and bought the scam: that Borat, with his pubic patch of a mustache, his unwashed gray suit, his butchered English and his blatant bigotry, really was a roving Kazakh citizen doing a documentary on American culture.
OK, not everyone bought it. The government of Kazakhstan was appalled at seeing its country depicted as a place where men treat women as slaves, screw their sisters and swill wine made from horse piss. No wonder the Kazakh scenes were shot in Romania. "Not too much rape -- and humans only," Borat helpfully tells a friend as he leaves his village for America, carrying "a vial of gypsy tears to prevent AIDS." Cohen makes primo slapstick out of all the silliness, but it's his merciless knack for Swiftian satire that gives Borat its remarkable staying power. There's something cathartic about laughs that stick in your throat.
Don't be fooled by how this demonically devious mockumentary looks (as wonderfully tacky as an $18 million budget will allow) or how it's organized (clever masked as haphazard), the film doesn't waste one of its eighty-nine minutes. The script that Cohen wrote with Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham and Dan Mazer tells us that Borat has a hidden agenda for coming to America. He's seen Baywatch and wants to take the "virgin" Pamela Anderson as his bride. When Borat catches his fat producer Azamat (Ken Davitian) jerking off to photos of Pam, he engages the hairy beast in a naked ass-to-mouth wrestling match that could set back screen nudity for decades. If you don't upchuck, the scene is uproarious and kicks off Borat's journey across America in an ice-cream truck (don't ask) to find his muse.
Will Borat get his "sexytime" with Pam and have his hoped-for "romantic explosion" on her stomach? I'll never tell. And I don't have to, because the core of this movie -- its raison d'etre -- is who and what Borat encounters along the way. No aspect of prejudice, hypocrisy, arrogance and stupidity is overlooked.
At a rodeo in Virginia, Borat is greeted with cheers when he tells the crowd, "We support your war of terror," and then hypes them up more by longing for the day that "Premier George W. Bush will drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq."
At a gun store he asks the owner for the best gun for killing Jews and is told that a 9mm or a 45 will do just fine. He settles for a live bear. Terrified at having to sleep overnight at the home of a kindly Jewish couple, Borat believes that two cockroaches crawling under the door are the Jews transformed. To make them go away, he throws money at them. And so it goes, with Borat's antics extending to a frat-boy boozefest, a Pentecostal church rally, a classy dinner party down South in which he is taught the formal art of toilet training and a confab with feminists who seem startled by the well-known fact in Kazakhstan that the brain of a woman is the size of a squirrel's. On the debit side, the attempt to snatch Anderson at a book-signing feels staged, as if the movie had suffered a brush with Hollywood. But the brush is quick and far from fatal. Cohen's total immersion in his character is a wonder to behold. If Oscar voters have any sense, they recognize his performance for what it is: a tour de force that sets off comic and cosmic explosions in your head. You won't know what outrageous fun is until you see Borat. High-five!
Share
Email
AIM
Del.icio.us
DiggThis
Fark It!
Review 1 of 22
nemochick517 writes:
Hilarious! some scenes were disturbing, but funny all around. The actor is extremely good! you can't even tell he's from the UK!
Jul 21, 2007 21:24:32
Review 2 of 22
KillerQueen writes:
Hello, my name a Borat, I like you, I like sex, is nice.
enough said.
Mar 7, 2007 20:20:57
Review 3 of 22
nevyr writes:
I forgot what is laughing during this movie.
Feb 16, 2007 04:20:13
Review 4 of 22
Brastacks writes:
I only laughed a few times. The jesus freak scence was great, otherwise the movie is totally boring, lacks any social redeeming factors and is just plain nasty in real bad taste. Cannot recommend.
Jan 23, 2007 07:08:47
Review 5 of 22
trigganometry30 writes:
THE FUNNIEST MOVIE OF 2006. Remember when Johnny Depp was up for an Oscar for Pirates? I can see this performance from Cohen being up. It should be. Borat is the most offensive movie I have ever seen, but I could not resist. This movie speeks truths about hick and idiot america, and George W. loved this movie. I'm not kidding. You will cry laughing.
Jan 18, 2007 08:29:34
Review 6 of 22
pdilly writes:
If you haven't heard of Borat by now, then chances are you've been living under a rock for the past few months. Borat is a fictional character created by the British Orthodox Jew and comedic genius, Sacha Baron Cohen, who used to have a show on HBO called Da Ali G show. On this show, he played three characters, one of whom was Borat. Borat is a Kazakhstani journalist who makes videos about America in order to educate his country. In the movie, he has come to America to help his country in a their time of need.
The movie begins in Kazakhstan and Borat familiarizes us with his way of life. We meet the town rapist, the asshole neighbor, and Borat's sister - the fourth best prostitute in all of Kazakhstan (nice!). We also learn about some of Borat's hobbies like disco dance and traditional Kazakhstani events like the 'running of the Jew'. However, we soon learn that Borat has been assigned to go to America with a camera team and his producer, Azamat, in order to help his country's economy and 'Jew problem'.
Borat's journey begins in New York City, where he is perplexed to find people reluctant to greet him in the traditional Kazakhstani way. He has a great deal of trouble adjusting to American culture and often finds himself in awkward situations, like when he takes a dump at the base of Trump Tower. But his time in NYC is cut short when he sees a clip of Baywatch, in which Pamela Anderson saves some guy from drowning and then stretches on the beach. He is captivated by her golden hair and plastic chest and falls in love with her. He decides to go across the country to find her in California. However, his producer will not let them take a plane, for fear that the Jews will hijack a plane just like they did on 9/11 (if you think that's bad, just wait till he gets to the South).
Borat's cross-country trek begins when he manages to obtain a driver's license and an old ice cream truck for $700. As he makes his way across the country, he meets many interesting characters, including tons of racist, sexist, and anti-semetic southerners. His journey has some ups (meeting a charming obese prostitute), some downs (finding out Pamela is a slut) and some really disgusting parts (naked wrestling with hardly any censorship).
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America to Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is a fantastic movie. It is not simply the funniest movie of all time (which I believe it is), it is also a clever satirical documentary which shows that our country is filled with disgusting bigots. Borat encounters some of the most perverse, racist, and anti-semetic bastards I have ever seen or heard. He even meets some people who encourage him to cut off his mustache because it makes him look like a Muslim terrorist. But of course, the discovery that our country is sick is nothing new. What is amazing about this film is how uproariously funny it is. In all honest, I have never laughed as hard any time as I did when I saw this film. Sure, some people will say it's really gay and disgusting, but I know I'm not gay and so I'm ok with seeing naked wrestling because I recognize that it's absolutely hilarious, albeit gross.
Borat: Cultural Learnings of etc., etc. is the funniest movie I have ever seen. It is perhaps one of the funniest movies of all time, not only because of slap-stick humor, but also because of the clever satirical writing and its mockumentary style. Borat is a disgusting movie, but if you're mature you should be able to handle it and let yourself laugh. So please go see this film and recognize that it is offensive, but also recognize that that is why it is so funny.
Jan 10, 2007 14:46:31
Review 7 of 22
bung writes:
funniest movie since south park! you ppl who think this movie looks stupid...your right it is...but in the most enjoyable and gross way possible, dont waist your money on flicks like lets go to prison and shit like that you wanna see some real comedy? go see borat
Jan 10, 2007 04:26:44
Review 8 of 22
petertraversfanboy writes:
You should know by the news reporting about all the people sueing Sacha Baron (Ali G) for "Borat." Most people would be persuaded not to watch it by those reports. But you should want to go see it more. I know I did. Fucking hilarious! Ali G playing his Borat character and delivering the best comedy of the year. Hopefully, you won't be one of those pussies that think Borat is too offensive for them and the comedy is too raw. Well, sure. But it's phoenomenal as well. To watch a man from Kazakhstan with a large beast of a wife (later traded in for the "chocolate face" beast, don't ask), who also hates Jews. You can't go wrong with a film that has "The Running of Jews" and you know it is not tamed when a man in redneck city is trying to learn manners for the dinner table at a social events, then having to use the restroom and comes down with a bag of shit. Also buys a bear for protection and shows he has no heart of the Jewish community what soever, example: whenever him and his associate begin driving to California so Borat can blow his load on Pam Anderson's chest instead of flying because they are afraid the Jews will attempt another one of their 9/11 attacks. The result of this film, people just couldn't believe how far these people will go, that they would say these things, well, someone had to say them. Not the Jew sectiong though, I have nothing but the up most respect for the Jewish community. And if you think "Jackass" is raw, wait until you see a fat hairy bastard jerk off completely nude on a hotel bed with a "Baywatch" book. Borat flips when he comes out of the shower and finds his associate cumming all over his book, then they get into a but-fucking brawl. As Borat shoves his face into his associates ballssack. Had enough yet? Well, thats all I'm gonna say, because just incase the people who are living under a rock haven't seen the film yet, I don't want to ruin it for them. But there is one thing for sure: "Borat" is a mindblowing, popcorn choking, wakeup call that will have you pissing in you're pants! Mr. Baron, 2006 Best Actor (Musical or Comedy) at the Globes for sure.
Jan 6, 2007 14:18:14
Previous Next
Advertisement
More Movie Reviews
-
2of 4 Stars
-
1.5of 4 Stars
-
3.5of 4 Stars
-
3of 4 Stars
-
3.5of 4 Stars
-
1of 4 Stars
-
2of 4 Stars
-
3.5of 4 Stars
-
3of 4 Stars
-
3.5of 4 Stars
News and Reviews
Click "Copy Me" to add the RS.com Widget to your Facebook page, blog, MySpace page and more.
Advertisement
©RealNetworks, Inc. All rights reserved.
©Copyright 2008 Rolling Stone
- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC.
Get RS Mobile
RSS
