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Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan [2006] | | |
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It takes a certain kind of comic genius to create a character who is, to quote the classic Sondheim lyric, appealing and appalling. But be forewarned: Borat is not "something for everyone." It arrives as advertised as one of the most outrageous, most offensive, and funniest films in years. Kazakhstan journalist Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen reprising the popular character from his Da Ali G Show, leaves his humble village to come to "U.S. of A" to film a documentary. After catching an episode of Baywatch in his New York hotel room, he impulsively scuttles his plans and, accompanied by his fat, hirsute producer (Hardy to his Laurel), proceeds to California to pursue the object of his obsession, Pamela Anderson. Borat is not about how he finds America; it's about how America finds him in a series of increasingly cringe-worthy scenes. Borat, with his '70s mustache, well-worn grey suit, and outrageously backwards attitudes (especially where Jews are concerned) interacts with a cross-section of the populace, catching them, a la Alan Funt on Candid Camera, in the act of being themselves. Early on, an unwitting humour coach advises Borat about various types of jokes. Borat asks if his brother's retardation is a ripe subject for comedy. The coach patiently replies, "That would not be funny in America." NOT! Borat is subversively, bracingly funny. When it comes to exploring uncharted territory of what is and is not appropriate or politically correct, Borat knows no boundaries, as when he brings a fancy dinner with the southern gentry to a halt after returning from the bathroom with a bag of his feces ("The cultural differences are vast," his hostess graciously/patronisingly offers), or turns cheers to boos at a rodeo when he calls for bloodlust against the Iraqis and mangles "The Star Spangled Banner." Success, John F. Kennedy once said, has a thousand fathers. A paternity test on Borat might reveal traces of Bill Dana's Jose Jimenez, Andy Kaufman, Michael Moore, The Jamie Kennedy Xperiment, and Jackass. Some scenes seem to have been staged (a game Anderson, whom Borat confronts at a book signing, was reportedly in on the setup), but others, as the growing litany of lawsuits attests, were not. All too real is Borat's encounter with loutish Southern frat boys who reveal their sexism and racism, and the disturbing moment when he asks a gun store owner what gun he would recommend to "kill a Jew" (a Glock automatic is the matter-of-fact reply). Comedy is not pretty, and in Borat it can get downright ugly, as when Borat and his producer get jiggly with it during a nude fight that spills out from their hotel room into the hallway, elevator, lobby and finally, a mortgage brokers association banquet. High-five! --Donald Liebenson
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| Customer Reviews:
 is nice! January 7, 2007
radio atlantis (tha north of ireland)
50 out of 63 found this review helpful
he's an anti-semite who speaks fluent hebrew. he's a homophobe who enjoys the 'friendly natives' at a gay rights parade. he's a racist who seems genuinely curious when he meets blacks. he's the creation of sasha baron cohen, himself jewish so the allegations of anti semitism (sp) simply don't wash. likewise he is not poking fun at kazakhstan, merely people's perceptions of something they know precious little about.
where this film works in comparison to say the ali g movie is that it is relatively plot free. whereas the former unwisely tried to pidgeonhole the character, here the premise is flimsy. our hero travels to the us with his manager (who does a mean oliver hardy impression), falls in love with pamela anderson and travels to the west coast to meet and marry her, changeing people's lives as he goes.
where it works too is by exposing this crude, ignorant buffoon to an unsuspecting public and focussing on their reactions of disgust, horror, bemusement, sympathy or agreement (to be fair, the ali g show did something on similar lines). sure its been done before but not to the twin aims of getting laughs and revealng certain people for what they really are. off guard we see an appallingly racist/ homophobic (and seemingly, after the furore/ lawsuits this film has generated, unapologetic) rodeo manager and some drunken fratboys revealed to be, well, idiots basically.
gloriously funny throughout (and i think stopped before the joke wore thin). one scene which has been mentioned by other reviewers had me laughing so hard i thought i was going to throw up (you probably know the scene i'm talking about). other highlights include the rodeo scene (wonder how many people in the audience did a double take on hearing 'war of terror'), which included an incredibly funny faux-kazakhstani national anthem sung to the tune of the star spangled banner ("all other countries are run by little girls" indeed). its a wonder that girl managed to stay on her horse as long as she did. i admit on first viewing i was slightly disappointed he didn't do much to the christians. after watching it again though i realised the truth...they're doing it to themselves.
in short this is a film where you laugh while at the same time being appalled. borat is not here to pander to anyone's sensibilities - he's here to show us who we are. public beware, he's got a mirror
"Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" (2006) December 5, 2006
Jake M. Cochrane (Harrold, Bedfordshire)
31 out of 41 found this review helpful
Very nice. I like "Borat" very much, I think it is, as everybody has been saying, the funniest movie in years. And not because it is dumb (even though it's very dumb), but because it is smart (and it is very smart). The full title is "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Every word in that title (including the "for" and both "ofs") is, in context, really funny. If you have to ask why, then you probably won't find "Borat" funny, either. But that doesn't seem likely.
Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) is the leading television personality of the glorious but socially backward and underdeveloped nation of Kazakhstan. He knows everybody, and is known by everybody, including Nushuktan Tulyiagby, his neighbour, who according to Borat must get everything Borat gets. His dialogue is funny because of his choice of words, for example he says "is nice" instead of "it's nice." Borat is constantly grinning throughout the opening sequences, and all though his teeth are yellow, his eyes aren't particularly handsome and he describes his sister as "nice" after revealing to us that she is No. 4 prostitute in whole of Kazakhstan, we learn to like him and have feelings for him. He introduces us to his friends, enemies, family and even tell us his hobbies, which consist of ping-pong, sunbathe, and disco-dance.
Borat tells us at the beginning of the movie that "All though Kazakhstan a glorious country, it have a problem, too: economic, social and Jew. That's why I travel to U.S and A greatest country in the world! to learn a lessons for Kazakhstan." If you do not find that quote funny, especially the line "economic, social and Jew" than perhaps "Borat" isn't for you.
Borat's views on Jews are the same as his views on Uzbeks. It is clear that Borat hasn't met an American Jew until he travels to America, and even then he doesn't recognize them when he does. He doesn't hate them because they are different, he hates them because that's what his country thinks. He's grown up in a world of it. Borat is a homophobe, but he goes through homosexual experiences without realizing it because people in his country do not think of sex with the same gender. He's an ignorant man, but he is not stupid. There are many Americans who are perhaps more ignorant than him, and "Borat" proves that. Some of the sequences are staged, some are improvised.
"Borat" is a great comedy, and for fans of Cohen's "Da Ali G Show" and maybe his "Indahouse" movie, "Borat" will be worth it. If you're easily offended, "Borat" isn't worth it.
Happy Times February 22, 2007
Iain Mckay (closer to Kazakhstan)
27 out of 31 found this review helpful
As an ex-pat living in Germany, I can say that I was somewhat apprehensive of the Germans reaction to the so-called anti-semitic parts of Borat. They are, quite obviously, very sensitive to the dark finger of racism. However, a series of well-constructed t.v and newspaper reports prepared the public here for its content. For example, Cohens Judaism and the, in my mind, masterstroke of Borat actually speaking Hebrew (with a very heavy accent) when he should be speaking Kazakhstani, illuminated satirical aspects of the film that attracted the Germans. The Germans have a great love of satire. In fact, combined with slapstick, it IS their national form of comedy. They have embraced Borat. As we all should. But of course with clothes on. Don`t use the film as an attempt to put down the US of A, because this film would have worked in Britain just as well. Ignorance has no borders. Quite simply the funniest and cleverest satirical film ever produced.
So politically incorrect December 13, 2006
S. Kirycos (Cheltenham, U.K.)
26 out of 37 found this review helpful
If you though Ali G was un PC think again. Ali G is a choir boy compared to Borat.
For those of you who don't know, Borat and Ali G are both characters created by Sacha Baron Cohen (sorry if I got the spelling wrong). Borat is supposedly a guy from Kazakhstan who goes to America to learn about their culture.
From the word go I find myself watching this film from between my fingers it is so embarassingly funny. Whether it be Borat in the most absurdly vulgar bathing suit or him singing a fake Kazak anthem (to the tune of the U.S. anthem) in front of a rodeo crowd you will find yourself wondering how on earth this guy had the balls to do this.
Borat spares no one. He attacks Kazakhstan, Jewish people, Christians, Southern Americans, frat boys and anyone he comes across. And of course the more weird and insulting it gets, the funnier it gets. The funniest scene is where he gets into a fight with his travelling partner (i won't tell you anything else cos i don't want to spoil it for you)
The thing that i am not sure of is how many of his victims in this film are in on it and how many are totally unsuspecting. Certainly Pamela Anderson had to be in on it for the stunt he pulled with her. As for everyone else i like to think that they were all clueless as to who he was.
It is a relatively short film and probably just as well. As funny as it may be it can also become quite tiring if it goes on for too long. I found myself losing interest in the last 5 or 10 minutes. But that is the only thing wrong really with this film.
 Very funny - but not a masterpiece March 19, 2007
DangermouseZilla (Doncaster, Yorkshire, UK.)
19 out of 21 found this review helpful
I enjoyed Borat. In fact, I enjoyed it even before I put the DVD in the machine...
The actual disk itself is made to look like a pirated copy of the film (complete with DVD-R printed on the disk and felt tip pen scribbling of the film title!).
My over all impression of the film was that it was really a series of sketches held together with a thin plot. But some of the moments of brilliance were enough reason themselves to buy the DVD.
The central idea is quite genius, take a character who is supposedly socially backwards and from a socially inferior community, plonk him in the richest nation in the world, and show how intolerent and socially retarded that country is too!
The truth is, you could make any country look as bad as the US looked - with a bit of biased editing. I'm sure that's what happened here to an extent, but the truth is that there happens to be a lot of racial intolerance in the "US and A". Nations outside of the US often view the US as very inward looking and right-wing, and this film showed some great examples of that.
Borat's inital landing in the US was fab. As he tries to greet Americans and kiss them on the cheek he encounters some pretty strong homophobic threats.
He also comes across some lovely people (the Jewish couple who put them up for the night) and the 'Street homeys' who teach him to look cool.
I thought it interesting that the latter of the aforementioned groups were the ones who seemed the most threatening, the 'underclass' - but they turned out to be more accepting than the middle-class group at the dinner party.
Borat did what Borat does best, shows the scary side of the world. The side which is fuelled by the flag waving, God-loving, gay hating, racist, middle class who exercise so much power and influence. He does this via a blend of staged and fly-on-the wall stunts.
As I said before, this isn't a masterpiece, it isn't a classic, but some of the scenes in this mockumentary stand out as a warning that those who claim to be moral guardians and virtuous are often the ones who harbour the most destructive and narrow minded of prejudices and hatred.
Plus - you get to see the funniest swimsuit ever!
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