November 6, 2006
Ha ha ha haaa! This film is so wrong, it's right. I laughed myself stupid along with an almost full cinema of others as Borat blundered his way across the US and A after Pamela Anderson and the American way of life. Not only is this journey undertaken in an ice cream van (and much of it with a bear in the back), but Borat and his producer encounter everything from a gay pride march, a dining and etiquette club and a terrifyingly redneck rodeo to a veteran feminist meeting and a frat boy road trip. You've got to marvel at Sacha Baron Cohen's bravery at various points throughout this film. At one point he sings a fake Kazakh national anthem in front of hundreds of Texan rodeo fans to the theme of the Star Spangled Banner such that the booing is loud enough to scare the mascot horse into falling onto its female rider - one can only hope she wasn't harmed! Indeed, one wonders throughout how many of the film's participants were in on the act, as Baron Cohen seems to escape miraculously from some horrendous situations without getting his face punched in. (And it probably helps when you're laughing/cringing at the hideous Jewish jokes to remember that one is allowed to joke about one's own.)
Cleverer and subtler than Ali G - but with more than enough toilet humour (literally) to keep the groundlings entertained - this is the funniest thing I have seen in ages.
Cleverer and subtler than Ali G - but with more than enough toilet humour (literally) to keep the groundlings entertained - this is the funniest thing I have seen in ages.