Film Review: "Borat"
I laughed.
I hid my head in shame.
The film is unabashed.
The premise is simple. Sacha Baron Cohen, famous for his very funny "Ali G" telvision series, plays "Borat", a Kazakstani TV reporter who comes to New York to do a documentary about America. He falls in love with a picture of Pam Anderson, star of Bay Watch, and sets off on a quixotic trip to Malibu to express his love on her. That's it. Premise is over.
Sexual, scatalogical, animalistic; we watch him cross the country as make foils/fools of everyone...including, and most especially, himself--which is why we grant him the permission to skewer everyone else. He (the character) is willing to expose himself, and his own body, in several scenes, most impactively in a gross-out scene of him rolling around in bed nude wrestling with a grotesquely obese Sancha Panza side kick. (Cohen does censor/blacken out his own private parts on screen, however.) He out animal-houses Animal House. As I watched, I kept saying to my wife RE Cohen: "He's got balls (no pun intended)." "He's unconscionable." "He has no reins."
He's also brilliant; perversely so. He is twisted, the son of deSade. He is cruel. He is incisive. His sharp comedic knife operates indesciminately on an any subject. He is the worst and best kind of satirical democrat; making fun of everyone, without pity or distinction.
Am I glad I saw the film? Yes.
Did I laugh? Yes.
Will I see Borat II? No.
There are things--certain secret stolen dirty pleasures--you only want to experience once in a lifetime.
Will I see him any other kind of film? Yes. He is that talented.
Think Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Chris Rock, and--before them all--Jonathan Winters; Cohen is their legatee; in the right vehicle he could join their list as another great physical actor/comedian.
He's got the bucks now. He's got the fame. Now let's see if he's got the 'balls'...to move up in class.
I hid my head in shame.
The film is unabashed.
The premise is simple. Sacha Baron Cohen, famous for his very funny "Ali G" telvision series, plays "Borat", a Kazakstani TV reporter who comes to New York to do a documentary about America. He falls in love with a picture of Pam Anderson, star of Bay Watch, and sets off on a quixotic trip to Malibu to express his love on her. That's it. Premise is over.
Sexual, scatalogical, animalistic; we watch him cross the country as make foils/fools of everyone...including, and most especially, himself--which is why we grant him the permission to skewer everyone else. He (the character) is willing to expose himself, and his own body, in several scenes, most impactively in a gross-out scene of him rolling around in bed nude wrestling with a grotesquely obese Sancha Panza side kick. (Cohen does censor/blacken out his own private parts on screen, however.) He out animal-houses Animal House. As I watched, I kept saying to my wife RE Cohen: "He's got balls (no pun intended)." "He's unconscionable." "He has no reins."
He's also brilliant; perversely so. He is twisted, the son of deSade. He is cruel. He is incisive. His sharp comedic knife operates indesciminately on an any subject. He is the worst and best kind of satirical democrat; making fun of everyone, without pity or distinction.
Am I glad I saw the film? Yes.
Did I laugh? Yes.
Will I see Borat II? No.
There are things--certain secret stolen dirty pleasures--you only want to experience once in a lifetime.
Will I see him any other kind of film? Yes. He is that talented.
Think Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Chris Rock, and--before them all--Jonathan Winters; Cohen is their legatee; in the right vehicle he could join their list as another great physical actor/comedian.
He's got the bucks now. He's got the fame. Now let's see if he's got the 'balls'...to move up in class.
posted by Cliff Osmond at 6:22 PM
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