Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Comedy

Jak sie masz! Don’t take it too seriously! That’s the mindset you have to be in when you watch “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”. With a title like that, you’re already guaranteed to take notice, that’s for sure. If you’re one of the uninitiated, Borat is a character played by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. He also famously created the hip-hop wannabe Ali G who famously appeared in Madonna’s “Music” video and hosted his own talk show on HBO. Borat Sagidyev is supposed to be a Kazakh news reporter who approaches people and comments on how they do things in Kazakhstan, insulting both his and his interviewee’s cultures in the process.

When “Borat” the movie begins, the title character introduces us to his little Kazakh village and laments that though he loves his country, it isn’t exactly modern. So the Kazakh Ministry of Information dispatches Borat and his producer, Azamat Bagatov, to America to document how to emulate the world’s greatest nation. What follows is a “mockumentary” that will leave you wondering if the entire movie is scripted or (more likely) that America and its inhabitants are exactly as they were portrayed.

When Borat and Azamat arrive in New York, the plan is for them to shoot everyday Americana. But when Borat sees an episode of “Baywatch”, his libido tells him to travel cross-country to California to hunt down Pamela Anderson and make her his new wife. Through broken English and wide-eyed naiveté, the Kazakh pair proceed to aggravate, alienate, and infuriate Americans from east to west.

Cohen’s Borat is one of the most unique characters I’ve ever seen onscreen. Cohen’s wicked wit and sense of humor, as well as a chance meeting with a Russian doctor that left him in stitches, formed the basis of the Borat persona. Borat is offensive, xenophobic, racist, and a proud misogynist. No wonder the real Kazakh government hates Cohen’s guts and plan on boycotting this film! Cohen plays Borat with aplomb, relishing the opportunity to portray a backward thinking journalist (and I use the term loosely here) with few social graces. You’d probably find it offensive too if Cohen played a Filipino named Dionisio, but that’s just if you take the movie seriously.

“Borat” the movie is a comedy through and through, and a great one at that. It isn’t real. The combination of satire with documentary makes it almost like an episode of the reality TV shows that we’ve become fans of in recent years. When Borat deals with feminists, hotel staff, or fratboys on the road, their reactions to him are as funny as the things coming out of his mouth. In fact, it is Borat’s political incorrectness and “innocence” regarding American norms that drive a lot of the film’s funniest moments.

Cohen proves to be as adept as Borat as he has been as Ali G. Much like the late, great Peter Sellers who immersed himself in foreign characters like Insp. Jacques Clouseau and Hrundi V. Bakshi, Cohen pushes all the buttons that can offend and at the same time tickle an audience. His playing on stereotypes has been a comic device for ages and, perhaps due to this era of too much political correctness, hasn’t been seen at this magnitude in a long time. Is nice, you look!

Oh and one other thing. Be warned of the wrestling scene between Borat and Azamat that goes from the hotel room, to the lobby, and through an ongoing seminar. That image will haunt your nightmares forever! Wawaweewa!