2006 comedyRating: 15/20
Plot: Borat, Kazakhstan's number one journalist, is sent to America to film a documentary on what makes the country so great. He falls in lust with Pamela Anderson after catching an episode of Baywatch on a hotel television and sets out for Los Angeles to find her.
On the one hand, this makes the misanthropic half of me laugh more than anything else. Attacks on idiocy, brutal satire, jabs of irony. On the other hand, there's something so hateful about a lot of this, and it's often unnecessarily crude. On the one hand, I really love the interaction with the actual, unsuspecting masses--the rodeo crowd, the guy trying to teach Borat how to tell jokes, the gun store owner, the used car salesman. On the other hand, the Pamela Anderson plot is cheesy and low-brow and pointless. On the one hand, Cohen's probably a genius and would have been deserving of a best actor nomination for this largely-improvised role. On the other hand, I really didn't need to see his ass. I like Borat and I'll likely see it lots more times and I look forward to seeing the new one with the gay character, but when I think about how good this movie should have been, it really annoys me. Channel it, Borat!
Rather than thinking about how good it could have been, I think about how well this movie shocked and amused me. I love the tongue-in-cheek humor. I agree with almost all of your review, but as with most shock comedy, there is a certain amount of hit and miss to be expected. I give Cohen credit for being absolutely shameless. In spite of having to see his and the fat guys ass, I laughed hysterically while peeking through fingers that covered my eyes. This is like an Apatow film on steroids, with the courage to be real. It has an edge and many of it's attacks hit the mark. A 16.
ReplyDeleteI like it more when the attacks are directed at those who are deserving. The poor guy giving him the driving lesson? The upper-class folk (with the preacher and his wife) he had dinner with? The Jewish bed and breakfast couple? What did they do to deserve the wrath of Cohen?
ReplyDeleteThe guy who apparently earns some kind of living as a humor specialist though? The rodeo crowd cheering Borat's wishes of President Bush drinking the blood of babies? The college boys in the RV? They deserve any humiliation they might feel because of this.
Did you see any of the Ali G show on HBO? I think the Borat bits in that (he does the Ali G character and Bruno also) are funnier than what ended up in the movie. Hilarious stuff.
I don't know how to say this, but I have seen "Bruno" and I am recommending it. It can be embarrassing to say you like a movie like "Bruno" because there are many things in it that I wash my hands of (you see much more than his ass in this one). Even more than "Borat", Cohen pushes buttons in an outrageously funny way. I spent most of the movie either cringing or laughing. If you watch it, you must watch it again with the commentary, to hear what was really going on from Cohen's perspective. VERY subversive and funny stuff. I would love to hear what you think of this.
ReplyDeleteI tried to get 'Bruno' from three different red box things this weekend, but I either couldn't figure out how to use the red box things or 'Bruno' was all checked out...I'll watch it soon enough though.
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