Borat - Review

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Length: 82 min

Rated: USA:R / Kazakhstan:3

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Release Date: 2006-11-03

Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Pamela Anderson, Ken Davitian

Directed by Larry Charles

Produced by Sacha Baron Cohen, Jay Roach

Written by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Mazer

Visit the movie's Official Site!

Reviewed by Josh Tyler : 2006-09-27 23:52:55

It's not easy explaining to his detractors exactly why Borat is so funny. To me, it's kind of like what Jackass would be if Johnny Knoxville and his boys had the brainpower necessary to become master satirists. It's insanity and discomfort on an epic level; it's lunatic stunts and unbelievable assaults delivered with a purpose; it's high-minded sarcasm and blistering social commentary wrapped up in a dirty brown, low-brow package. As a small part of "Da Ali G" show Borat was clever. Now as a movie, he's the funniest thing you'll see this year.

Borat is the brainchild of British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, a mockumentary about a character poured from the mold of every bad third-world stereotype imaginable. In his native country of Kazakhstan Borat is a happy-go-lucky, well-known TV reporter with his own clock radio and a successful family. His sister is the fourth best prostitute in the country and as he demonstrates during his self-introduction, one hell of a kisser. Borat approaches life with a zestful enthusiasm, and he's completely unaware that he and everyone in his country are sexist, racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic bigots.

After taking us on a visit to see his village celebrate the running of the Jew, Borat explains that he's making a documentary for the government of Kazakhstan. They're sending him to America to learn what makes our country so great, and then bring back that knowledge for the benefit of the great Kazakhi people. He hops in a car, instructs the driver to start the mule pulling, and departs from his tiny, dirty village to head towards America.

On his original cable show, Cohen's formula was to travel America in character, forcing real people who weren't in on the joke to interact with and be offended by Borat. In doing so, he poked a sharp stick into the flaws of American culture, satirizing it while at the same time letting Borat make fun of himself. Unlike the movie version of Ali G (Ali G Indahouse) which abandoned Ali G's formula in favor of a lame, scripted adventure; Borat sticks with what made the character so great to begin with, and only amps things up by wrapping Borat's short collisions with random Americans into a single cohesive story with plot-driving scenes shot using actors. The transition between moments where Borat's reacting to and getting reaction from real people and when he's not is so seamless that eventually it becomes impossible to tell what's real and what's not in the film. It all flows together into one, complete movie. Every moment of Borat feels perfectly authentic, even when it's not. You'll get lost in the character, and forget when he is and isn't for real.

That's what makes the film so insanely funny. Borat gives us actors out in public doing their thing, and half the time the reaction they get from hapless bystanders is as funny or even funnier than what they're doing. Every gag Cohen pulls off is turbo-charged, since you're laughing at what he just said and then laughing at the way the poor fellow he said it to is taking it. Cohen's commitment to his character is total. So much of what he does is off the cuff, and the way he holds it together as Borat, the way he always seems to know exactly what Borat should do in response to others is awe-inspiring. He stays with being Borat in the face of anything: threats, physical violence, arrest. Nothing can sway him from sticking with the character.

The movie takes aim at both individuals and social institutions, and this time lampoons not just America but the world outside it by Borat's reactions. In a strange way though, it also says some rather nice things about our country, simply by comparison to Borat's backwards, savage little home. Ultimately though, it's offensive, vicious, and unrelenting in its satire of everyone and everything. It's also ridiculously funny. There are things in this film that will literally blow your mind. A day after I saw it, I still have a hard time believing that the Borat's big finale actually happened. How does he get away with it? It's a rare movie that manages to be disgusting, filthy, and incredibly intelligent all at once. Sacha Baron Cohen is a genius, and his new film is a comedic masterpiece. Oh, and wow wow wee waa is it ever funny.

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emily newman
October 20, 2008 at 00:25

ponyboy YOU SUCK!!!

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Moviefan
October 8, 2008 at 19:24

It's hard to start commenting on this movie. First of all, it is a mockery on the people of Kazakhstan and display of utter ingorance about what the nation is really about. The movie-makers either have no idea of what Kazakhs really look like or they were just making a total joke about the cutlure. On the other hand it showed off the negative stereotypes about Americans.

It is a total waste of resources to make such a movie.

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princess keth
July 29, 2008 at 13:41

i love the bed scene where azamat and borat fought because azamat was enjoying pamela's pic.. lol!

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lee
July 17, 2008 at 14:43

BORAT. Ahhh. It is crazy. The moment he washes his mouth with the toilet bowl water I went nuts. I recommend ppl who watch borat just don't think about whatever issues & just take it as a joke ok... This is the most hilarious thing in the history of movies. Brilliant! 10/10 XD

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dee
February 7, 2008 at 03:21

I was not in a rush to see this movie, but OMG this is brilliant.

Very funny, one day after seeing the movie i m still thinking about some of the comments... Brilliant and clever.

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matsmiff
November 22, 2007 at 09:40

Phuque Ewe, I cant stop laughing, its guys like Ewe Borat was making fun of....LOOOL

The funniest movie I've seen for a long long time

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Kate
July 2, 2007 at 12:37

Wow I was so bored. This humour is best watched by boys in puberty.

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Frankyyyyyyy
May 14, 2007 at 07:03

Borat was awesome.
Funny shit.
People who don't like this have no sense of humour.

xD

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bungnugget
May 10, 2007 at 00:12

Absolutely brilliant, yet retarded.

People who don't understand this, will always have negative thoughts about this movie. Anyone with half a brain will agree with me when I say, "Simply genius."

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Peregrino
April 24, 2007 at 20:10

Borat seemed to me like the kind of thing sophomoric nerds would think was funny. But hey, sophomoric nerds gotta laugh, too, right? The editing was great, I have to admit. But the whole thing could have been done with real actors. What’s with Borat? Too cheap to pay? Some kind of self-satirizing joke on a Jewish stereotype? Frankly, it doesn’t demonstrate a great deal of wit to portray an ignorant, backwards person taunting ignorant, backwards people into acting ignorant and backwards. A small-time rodeo in the South represents America? Come on! What about the characters that reacted to his taunts with class? The two politicians; the woman at the yard sale; the driving instructor; to name a few. Don’t they represent America? I liked the obvious self-serving device of demonstrating that the bear was tame so that people wouldn’t complain about scaring kids with a truly vicious bear. Scaring innocent kids running after an ice cream truck with a bear that the kids think is vicious. Now that’s funny, isn’t it? That Borat, he’s a real star. The fact that Borat has been as well received in America as it has been says way more about the state of America than the content of the movie itself. You can always goad ignorant rubes into demonstrating their ignorance. You can’t always find an audience that thinks it’s funny. You need a fundamentally self-loathing country like America in the early 21st Century for that.

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Shaz Shah
March 28, 2007 at 08:07

i luved da film especially da nude wrestling hehe

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Seth Shepherd
March 24, 2007 at 13:42

Borat is hilarious. Never seen the ali G show though

"Should be running of the Muslim"??? Maybe you would not be so culturally biased if you left your trailer park more than once a month :)

9 out of 10

Absolutely hilarious

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Richard
February 23, 2007 at 17:47

I had very high hopes for this movie... I also used to LOVE the Ali G show so I really can't be accused of being anti-sascha. Wow... this really did suck balls. Borat was very amusing as a sketch within the Ali G sow, when it was 2 minutes at a time, I used to laugh my arse off. But this? The only part that made me really laugh was when he was naked fighting on the bed with his fat producer... but that wa sonly because it was so gross. This is over an hour of franky sub-par comedy... and I KNOW good comedy, I was reared on it.

I would give this a 2.5/10 tops.

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Phuque Ewe
February 17, 2007 at 18:25

I just watched Borat, and then looked to see reviews with a search engine, this is the first site I hit. Man, that movie was lame. I've seen funnier shit in front line combat. The guy can't act, the concept was stupid and it's obvious they edited the fucking shit out of the movie to get the reactions they wanted. Good thing I watched in on YouTube for free. I'd feel like a retard if I'd paid money for this movie. Plan 9 From Outer Space had better acting, plot, direction and color than this stupid piece of shit. Anyone who liked this movie is a fucking moron who deserves a slow painful death for being such a fucking idiot.

..........I did like the "Running of The Jew"........... would been better if it had bee the "Running of the Muslim"...........

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Angel
January 30, 2007 at 17:28

PonyBoy: What the hell are you thinking with?
Borat was an awesome movie!

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Efron
January 24, 2007 at 15:53

Pardeep I really agree with that!! The Borat movie had a great sense of humor towards the American industry. Also the self-spot is great! (Sacha Baron Cohen is actually a jewish man). the movie goes so much deeper that just simple amusement, it is really a movie with more depth if you try to look at it on another way than just amusement.. it gives so much more!.

Oke, sometimes it is too much what he does, but that also spices the movie up!.
A great movie, 9/10!

Regards!

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Pardeep
January 3, 2007 at 16:43

Well you abviously don't know what you are talking about. This movie was hilarious - it is clear that you probably don't have a sense of humour. I loved this movie becuase of the comedy, i don't care what the story line was; it was just flat out amazing.

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Ponyboy
January 3, 2007 at 12:57

this was by far the stupidest movie that ive ever seen, and ive seen a few. i love da ali g show and this was not even close to amusing. whoever thought people should pay money for this was off track and should go to the ocean and drown themselves.

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