Borat: Cultural Learnings of America To Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Rated R for: pervasive strong crude and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language
Running Time: 1 hr., 23 min.
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian

Rating: Three stars [out of four]

In theaters now


There is a lot of hype right now for the new film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America To Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Nearly every review I have read has not only said it is an amazing movie, but also has used hyperbole such as this being "the best comedy of the century" and "one of the best comedies ever made."

Ok, let me clarify: in my opinion, that's hyperbole. While Borat certainly has its charms, and while it is innovative and very, very funny, it's NOT going to go down in history as one of the best comedies ever made. The best comedy of the year? Well, it's definitely in the running. Best comedy of the century? I don't think so.

Having said that, Borat is very entertaining- if you're into that sort of thing. For those unfamiliar, Borat is a character created by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, for the HBO show Da Ali G Show which has become something of a cult phenomenon. On the show, Cohen [as Borat] would interview various people for a television in his home country of Kazakhstan and put himself into awkward social situations to not only mine comedy but also expose prejudice. The character is rude, obnoxious, naiive, anti-Semetic [though, it should be noted, Cohen himself is Jewish] and, despite all of that, actually somewhat charming.

When it was announced that this idea was to be transferred into the realm of feature film, the big question was whether or not it would fly as an hour and a half theatrical release. After all, it's one thing to watch this sort of comedy in small doses on television; it's quite another to stretch the concept three times as long and play it on the big screen.

Borat does end up pulling of this feat, however, and manages to evoke quite a few belly laughs from beginning to end. In a time when most comedies barely elicit more than a few chuckles, it's refreshing when a film comes along that can actually have the audience howling with laughter.

The story is this: Borat, along with his producer, Azamat [played by Ken Davitian] heads to America on behalf of the government of Kazakhstan in order to make a documentary about the states and its culture.

While in New York City, Borat has the good fortune [for him, at least] to catch a re-run of Baywatch and has a revelation: Pamela Anderson is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen.

Ulterior motive in hand, Borat convinces Azamat that they should take a cross-country road trip to California to "better" their documentary. Of course, his real plan is to find and marry Anderson.

And so the journey begins, and we're treated to a mixture of scripted and unscripted comedy. It's very easy to differentiate the parts of the movie that are fictional and those that are real moments with unsuspecting people.

The genius behind Cohen's comedy is the way that he exposes prejudice amongst the population. You can't help but laugh [and grimace] at some of the confessions he gets from people, and you shake your head in both disgust and surprise as you're reminded that, yes, there really are, in the year 2006, people out there who are ignorant and bigoted to an astonishing degree. For example, Borat, while speaking to an old cowboy at a rodeo, mentions that in his country, homosexuality is a crime punishable by death, an idea to which the cowboy enthusiastically takes.

There's also the culture clash between Borat and his unsuspecting victims, as when he mentions to a group of feminists that, "women have smaller brains than men," or he happily brings a bag of feces to the dinner table during an otherwise upscale party.

Yes, there are moments of crude humor here, but it's done well and cleverly. This is dumb comedy for smart people. Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that there has been quite a lot of hype about the social commentary underlining the film. While I'm sure that's in there [apparently in spades] I have to admit that, upon first viewing, I didn't really pick up on too much of it. I think it's probably subtle, and I was too wrapped up in the laughs to pay much attention. This seems to be the type of thing to be noticed more upon repeat viewings [or maybe I'm just slow.]

There's plenty to enjoy here, and the film is funny all the way through. Though, again, I wouldn't say that this is, by any stretch of the imagination, "the best comedy of the century," I will say that there are plenty of moments here that are absolutely hysterical [just wait until you see the outragous fight in the hotel room. Not for the squeamish.] Also, it should definitely be mentioned that some of the things Cohen pulls off here is pure genius, and the man has courage to spare with some of the situations he places himself in that the rest of us wouldn't even dream of doing, all for the sake of comedy.

So, my recommendation would be to turn a deaf ear to the hype machine surrounding this picture, go in with an open mind and you'll enjoy. It's a refreshing, funny, bold piece of cinema.