Borat 5/5 reviewed by Ben
Wow. I don't think I've ever given a movie a perfect score after seeing it just one time. Perhaps 12 Monkeys, or The Proposition might fit that bill, but here we have something completely different...
You may have seen the Borat character on "Da Ali G Show" on HBO. On the show, the character was featured in a number of small... "sketches" isn't the right word, since none of the interactions were scripted... but you know what I mean. Here, Sacha Baron Cohen takes his character to the big screen, on a quest across America to shoot a documentary so that Borat's native land, Khazakstan, can learn what makes America so great. This ironic goal quickly degenerates into a quest to shack up with Pamela Anderson. A highly American dream, after all.
The greatest thing about this movie is that the joke is on you. Do you know where Khasakstan is? Do you even know if it's a real country? Are so tolerant of other cultures that you'll accept or even applaud ludicrous and insane behavior in the name of cultural relativism? Are you a drunk fratboy who thinks the sex jokes are crazy funny but are confused about the rest? Then Borat is making fun of you. And me, and all of us.
All of this "between the lines" humor is couched in unscripted scenes where Borat interacts with people who really don't know how to react to him. It's hard to believe that some of these people are this stupid, from rodeo owners admitting that we should kill or lock up all homosexuals, to a gun store owner giving advice on which weapons are best for killing jews. The fact that Cohen is jewish makes it "okay" for him to make jokes, but I have to wonder that if he wasn't, would he be ridiculed? His point is the same either way. In any case, this movie reveals a lot about our society as Americans, and some of the various sub-cultures within it. The scene at the charismatic pentecostal revival is particularly amazing. Borat doesn't even have to do anything to bring out the humor here, it stands on its own as being completely ludicrous.
Not every moment in this film is so lofty and full of social commentary--there's plenty of good, ol' fashioned dirty jokes, slapstick, situations involving bears, and... well... that one part... that will make everyone very uncomfortable... I think you'll know what I mean when you see it. I'll avoid giving any more specifics of the humor, so you can go in surprised. Suffice to say, that while some of the laughs are cheap, some of the laughs are high-minded, and some of the laughs are deeper revealings of what's behind our own culture, the fact remains that I haven't laughed this hard or this much in a loooong time.
See this movie if:
-You saw "Da Ali G Show" and loved it
-You want to see some hilarious social commentary that makes fun of just about everyone
-You want to laugh--HARD!
Don't see this movie if:
-you're easily offended
-hot guy-on-guy action makes you queasy
-you're on a first date, or an anniversary, or something romantic like that
You may have seen the Borat character on "Da Ali G Show" on HBO. On the show, the character was featured in a number of small... "sketches" isn't the right word, since none of the interactions were scripted... but you know what I mean. Here, Sacha Baron Cohen takes his character to the big screen, on a quest across America to shoot a documentary so that Borat's native land, Khazakstan, can learn what makes America so great. This ironic goal quickly degenerates into a quest to shack up with Pamela Anderson. A highly American dream, after all.
The greatest thing about this movie is that the joke is on you. Do you know where Khasakstan is? Do you even know if it's a real country? Are so tolerant of other cultures that you'll accept or even applaud ludicrous and insane behavior in the name of cultural relativism? Are you a drunk fratboy who thinks the sex jokes are crazy funny but are confused about the rest? Then Borat is making fun of you. And me, and all of us.
All of this "between the lines" humor is couched in unscripted scenes where Borat interacts with people who really don't know how to react to him. It's hard to believe that some of these people are this stupid, from rodeo owners admitting that we should kill or lock up all homosexuals, to a gun store owner giving advice on which weapons are best for killing jews. The fact that Cohen is jewish makes it "okay" for him to make jokes, but I have to wonder that if he wasn't, would he be ridiculed? His point is the same either way. In any case, this movie reveals a lot about our society as Americans, and some of the various sub-cultures within it. The scene at the charismatic pentecostal revival is particularly amazing. Borat doesn't even have to do anything to bring out the humor here, it stands on its own as being completely ludicrous.
Not every moment in this film is so lofty and full of social commentary--there's plenty of good, ol' fashioned dirty jokes, slapstick, situations involving bears, and... well... that one part... that will make everyone very uncomfortable... I think you'll know what I mean when you see it. I'll avoid giving any more specifics of the humor, so you can go in surprised. Suffice to say, that while some of the laughs are cheap, some of the laughs are high-minded, and some of the laughs are deeper revealings of what's behind our own culture, the fact remains that I haven't laughed this hard or this much in a loooong time.
See this movie if:
-You saw "Da Ali G Show" and loved it
-You want to see some hilarious social commentary that makes fun of just about everyone
-You want to laugh--HARD!
Don't see this movie if:
-you're easily offended
-hot guy-on-guy action makes you queasy
-you're on a first date, or an anniversary, or something romantic like that
posted by Ben Riley at 4:51 PM
4 Comments:
Wow, the first 5/5 that isn't an "old favorites" review...and it is BORAT!?!? I am speechless. I must go see this post haste.
I have heard from a lot of people that this is the funniest movie of the year by far. I'm excited. I think we're going to see this and Casino Royale this weekend in Hot Springs.
sweet! I hear the new spidey trailer (which makes me wet myself its so awesome) will be playing in front of Casino Royale. Be sure and post a review, and I'd love to see what you think of Borat.
Oh dear, I have to disagree with the mystery man Ben. I would probably give this a low 3/5. Maybe because I've seen the Ali G show enough before, or maybe because it has been hyped up for the last few weeks...I really didn't see anything in this movie that I hadn't already seen. Funny, don't get me wrong, but not SUPER funny. Meh, that's the fun of movies. Shrug.
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