Borat (2010)

I guess I am shocked at how divisive this film seems to be--it's apparently another in the camp of "love it" or "hate it." I was familiar with Sasha Baron Cohen and the Borat character from HBO's "Da Ali G Show". While I was amused by this reprehensible, yet surprisingly innocent "Kazahstanian," I was skeptical about a full fledged big screen treatment. Turning a comedy skit into a feature movie is a "iffy" proposition, at best. Take a look at almost every Saturday Night Live adaptation for corroboration. I'd have to say, then, that I was pleasantly surprised--Borat is a winner.

Part scripted, partly hidden camera improv, partly "Jackass" tomfoolery--you're never quite sure what is to be believed in "Borat". Some may feel that this limits the film's effectiveness as commentary, but I feel this enhances it's comedic appeal. For there is such unbridled outrageousness to be had in "Borat," it's hard not to be caught up in the spirit. I probably laughed more consistently within the framework of this spare 83 minute film than I have all year. Some of it is dumb humor, to be sure--some of it was shock value or disbelief.

But a large part of the humor comes from real life. By playing the moronic, offensive imbecile--Cohen, and thus Borat, expose a cavalier prejudice, hypocrisy, and/or intolerance that exists within American culture. Whether it's buying a gun to kill Jews, viewing women as sex objects to be violated, or supporting the genocide of our enemies--Borat always finds willing subjects to engage, people who in one way or another identify with these barbaric ideas.

It's tempting to dismiss Borat as offensive nonsense, I know many have already stated that opinion. It might also be tempting for others to embrace "Borat" as one of the more unapologetic and politically relevant films in quite some time. But I don't think it is attempting anything quite so significant--and that, in truth, may be it's greatest success. It walks the line unlike any other film in recent memory. It has elicited much love from fans and major critics and much hatred from it's detractors. This power to provoke such passion, such debate--be it feelings, emotions, thoughts, ideas--that is the film's crowning achievement. This crazy little film is not only one of the year's funniest films, it has also become one of the year's most talked about. Who can argue with that? KGHarris, 11/06.

Ok, I haven't even played this DVD yet. I saw the film twice in the theaters, and I think enough has been said about it on here...

***May contain spoilers***

But let me say that when I got my Borat DVD in the mail today (how I love Amazon deliveries the day DVDs are available and with super saver shipping no less) I was a little confused. I opened the package, and found a DVD covered by your usual sleeve promoting its highlights like any other you might buy in the US. Then, I eagerly slipped the plastic-covered DVD out of the sleeve, turned it over to read the back, started reading and wait... what? or rather, CHTO? because the entire DVD cover is in Russian.

Now, I read Russian. And I have purchased pirated DVDs for $2 at Moscow metro stations because that is pretty much what you do when you're in Russia. So the fact that I examined this DVD case for a good 5 minutes, opened it to find what looks like a DVD-R disc with "Borat" labeled in permanent marker and seriously considered the possibility that somehow a pirated DVD had been sent by Amazon... finally, of course, I realized that the whole thing was a joke. Possibly even funnier to me than any single joke in the film. The giveaway was the single slip of paper inside promoting more films you can buy from the US and A that are legal in kazakhstan...

Anyway. Now all I have to do is go to Russia and purchase an ACTUAL pirated version to compare!

The DVD should be purchased for the uncanny packaging alone, but I guess I have ruined the surprise...

Buy Borat (2010) Now

The "Borat" party continues on DVD, with cool-stupid menus and lots of howlers in the "Surplus Material" section (that's extra features to most of us). A 20-minute video about the Borat character's U.S. promo tour -"Global Vistings and Television Shows for Purposes of Propaganda of Documentary" -takes us to Cannes, with the infamous florescent thong incident that freaked out photo editors worldwide. From the Riviera, it's on to the talk-show circuit with appearances on Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno. Borat to Conan: "Your pubis, is it red? May I harvest it?" On Leno, Borat is ready for love as he mistakes Martha Stewart's bed-making demonstration for an invitation to sex. Stewart plays along, sort of.

There's also a mock late-night TV music ad, with Borat singing to kids about their miseries and then covering "Born to Be Wild" from the stupid van. In the "Censored Footages" section of 8 clips, check out Borat's visit to an incredulous doctor -"That means you had sex with your sister? ... No high 5" -and a "Baywatch" spoof, "Sexy Drown Watch," with plenty of flab on display -and another thong.

It all adds up to a bonus half-hour with Borat, most of it as good as anything in the movie.

Read Best Reviews of Borat (2010) Here

The public reaction to Borat speaks volumes about the very small amount of the US population that either doesn't have HBO or simply has never tuned into HBO's Da Ali G Show. Sacha Baron Cohen certainly didn't break new ground with the Borat character in the full-length feature film Borat. Indeed, the Borat character was a regular part of the Ali G show first popularized in the UK in 2000 and introduced to US viewers via HBO in 2004.

So technically, all the hub-bub on the one side of the fence about Borat being a "racist" character or a misrepresentation of the Kazakhstan people is about 7 years late. And the suggestion on the other side of the fence that Borat is the funniest movie or character to come along in years is way overrated.

The Borat character is funny. But what is funnier is watching the reaction to the character by the people that he is duping. Similarly, Cohen's Ali G character (a stereotypical hip-hop, British ghetto banger TV host) and the Bruno character (a stereotypical gay mannerismed TV host) have the same modus operandi....

....And that modus operandi is Socratic irony. The characters deliberately feign ignorance in order to expose weakness in another's position. The result: most of the time hilarity. Whether it's Borat, Ali G or Bruno, the laughs are less to each character's behavior and more to the reaction of the person being duped and the commitment that people have to being politically correct so as not to question the ridiculous opinions and questions that Cohen's characters come up with. Cohen's characters' naive stupidity make his victims look equally stupid...Socratic irony. (The only victim that I ever saw that had enough intelligence to walk out of the situation without any regard to whether or not he was offending the Cohen character was Donald Trump.)

Comparitively, if what we're really after here are public reactions to pranks and gags, you can get it all for free on YouTube. Cohen just has a better knack for executing his gags on VIPs. Therefore, to make a full length movie that developed the Borat character was a bit overkill for me. A movie that was similar to Da Ali G Show that mixed up the characters a bit would have kept the gags a bit more fresh.

So do you want to see some funny pranks and gags that get a bit tired by the end of full length feature film about just the Borat character? Then the Borat movie is for you. Would you rather see it mixed up a bit between different characters? Then go with Da Ali G Show seasonal DVD releases. You want pranks and gags for free? Go to YouTube.

But don't be fooled into being offended by any of the Cohen characters. They are not real; the man behind the mask really isn't that stupid. He's trying to make YOU look stupid. And if you take Cohen's characters seriously, you will indeed look stupid. You see? Socratic irony.

Want Borat (2010) Discount?

Finally got to see one of the most talked about movies of the year. The widescreen edition is great and the special features are okay. Sacha Baron Cohen plays Borat, a native of Kazakstan and also a reporter from that country who comes to America in the hopes of learning something constructive to take back and apply to his own culture. What the film really does is show a hilarious, if often times disturbing and yet comical view of American culture through Borat's eyes. From his purchase of an "auto car" to falling in love with Pamela Anderson after watching an episode of Baywatch, it was fun to follow him through his journey from New York to California. Cohen is great because he makes the character he plays very believable. Whether it was the Rodeo, the Bear they bought for protection or the etiquette lessons, the film was highly entertaining. This kind of humor is not for everyone but I know people who would have found some of it to be a turn off still ended up laughing a lot. Borat holds nothing back and in the meantime explores everything from run down neighborhoods to evangelical church meetings. At times I laughed so hard my sides were about to burst!

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