Movie Review: Borat
I’ll just have to keep adding to this review as I go along. I am still processing the mind-blowing phenomenon that is Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
In brief: one of the filthiest, hairiest, most offensive and outrageous movies I have ever seen, and one of the funniest. By far the funniest this year, possibly in the last five years. Utter delight. It opens nationwide November 3. Yagjemesh!
If you’re not familiar with the character of Borat Sagdiyev, here’s the scoop: he’s a character invented by Sacha Baron Cohen for segments of Da Ali G Show on HBO, pretending to be a correspondent from Kazakhstan here to learn about American culture. His sister is Number 4 prostitute in all Kazakhstan! In the process he roots out hilarious misconceptions and stereotypes. Youtube has a couple of representative Borat moments here and here.
The film follows the same premise: Borat comes to learn about America. In the process, he falls in love with Pamela Anderson (referring to her as C.J., her Baywatch persona). He travels across the country for her, humiliating cowboys, rednecks, Southern gentility, evangelicals and frat boys along the way. Each scene is a winner, every skit hilarious. I had to look away for fear that I would die of laughter. I went with Buddy of Supergenius, who was similarly thunderstruck, as he will attest in the comments. It is still unclear whether Wife of Supergenius will ever see this.
A typical moment: Borat is asked to sing the National Anthem at a rodeo. After a brief message (“We support your war of terror! May George W. Bush drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq! May the land be destroyed that not even a lizard may live there for a thousand years!”), he then sings the Kazakh national anthem, to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner:
Kazakhstan is the Best
Nation in the World
All other nations
Are run by little girls
Kazakhstan is number one
Exporter of potassium
All other Central Asian Nations
Have inferior potassium…
and ending with “your home in the grave”.
The film left me with several questions. 1. How did he not get the utter HELL pounded out of him, repeatedly? (perhaps that’s where the production budget went) 2. Where did he find Borat’s Producer, Azamat (played by Ken Davitian)? 3. Exactly how much of it was staged? (I suspect not much)
Is it an R movie? Hell yes. Full frontal male nudity is prominent, as is a lengthy nude male wrestling scene in a banquet hall full of mortgage brokers. It is possibly the funniest moment I have ever seen in cinema (I know! I can’t believe it either!). So, this movie is not for the faint of heart, and I can’t universally recommend it. But if you’re not easily offended, and you want to laugh raucously, Borat is the ticket. Great success!
Borat is rated R for pervasive strong crude and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language. Seriously — that’s straight from the MPAA, and they mean it. But holy cow, what a funny movie.
Posted on October 6, 2006, in Movies, Reviews. Bookmark the permalink. 16 Comments.
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Looks good.
There are a number of good films coming out in the next couple of weeks:
The Departed
Little Children
Running With Scissors
The Last King of Scotland
49 Up
I’ll have a review of The Departed tomorrow.
Here is a link that quotes a local VA paper on what the local reaction to the mockery of the US National Anthem at the rodeo was like.
As of today it has a 100% fresh rating at rottentomatoes too
I WANT TO SEE THIS FILM. All hail Sacha Cohen, proof positive that the most original comedy continues to proceed forth out of Limey minds.
I’ve always thought that male nudity is…funnier, than female nudity.
*cough*
funnier, D.?
Yes, funnier. I mean, in movies. It usually gets a laugh, don’t you think?
I’m about to wet my pants! Male nudity IS funnier. I’m glad you think so, D. It’s high time you embrace that, Steve.
Embrace.
Can’t wait to see Borat.
D., it sure did in Boogie Nights.
HaHa, well, think about American Werewolf in London, or King of Hearts. Those men’s butts hanging out make you laugh.
We just don’t laugh at women’s butts — too sexual.
It’s true. Isn’t there a funny scene in Room With a View that involved male nudity too?
A very funny male nude scene in Room With A View, which is otherwise an “G” rated movie.
Just a comment Borat wasnt created for HBO it was created on a british TV show regularly on some British Channel (Paramount I think it was called)
Ok, I saw it. I was a bit nervous given SG’s strong warnings about content. I was ready to count how mny people walked out of the theater. This was in Sandy, UT. I didn’t count anybody, and I doubt there was anybody in there that was breathing properly during the wrestling sequence. I have never heard so much laughter in a theater.
I couldn’t quite look at the screen during the wrestling scene. I didn’t laugh, but I was amused/disgusted.