for make benefit glorious comedy
So last Friday, Dave and I went to see Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazahkstan. Two words: Veeery NICE!
Movies like Borat are a real rarity. In a commitment to character worthy of Andy Kaufman, Sacha Baron Cohen stays locked into the guise of Borat Sagdiyev for the entirety of the film, and at times it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s scripted. Reality and fantasy are seamlessly blended, and it’s easy to understand why the Kazahki government would be up in arms over it. This gives Borat a surreal quality that makes it even more fun to watch.
It’s not a movie for the faint of heart. Borat is racist, sexist, and at times, revolting, albeit in a naive way. Let me warn you that there are some things in this movie that, once seen, can never be unseen. Do you understand? I’m sure that you think you do.
So is it funny? Most definitely. It’s very smart at times and isn’t afraid to go there. Very few comedians have the guts or the talent to do what Baron Cohen has done. You’re unlikely to see anything like this movie for a very long time to come, so I do recommend seeing it. That said, there’s a sizable quantity of toilet humor in the movie, and not the mild, timidly implied kind that pretends to be daring (see: the atrocious Date Movie). It is for this reason that I can’t comprehend Borat’s stellar reviews. It’s smart, but it’s not genius, and it’s really odd to see a movie with so many references to the word “testes” get such overwhelming positive reviews. Usually such films are condemned to mediocrity, at best. Maybe all those liberal Hollywood movie reviewers just really loved the scenes where the Evangelicals and high society Southerners are made to squirm, which, to Borat’s credit, are genuinely hilarious.
High-five!
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