REVIEW: Borat
New Cultural Learnings are humorous, insightful
Television sketches rarely make good films. If there’s anything the myriad of SNL-inspired movies have taught us, it’s that five-minute skits don’t switch mediums very smoothly - Wayne’s World being the sole exception. The latest in the attempts to translate an idea across media forms is Borat, a film based on a series of sketches shown on Da Ali G Show. Surprisingly, not only does the concept fit snugly into a longer timeframe, but it also happens to be uproariously funny.
The film follows Borat Sagdiyev, a television journalist from Kazakhstan who is assigned to report on the United States, believing this will enrich the people of his home country. With documentary film crew in tow, he goes from coast to coast interviewing people from a variety of backgrounds and worldviews. It isn’t long before Borat is making a fool of himself and saying things most people would deem inappropriate at least, and inflammatory at worst.
Borat comes from a backwards country, and combined with the fact that he isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, his naïve assumptions about American culture leave more than a few shocked and insulted. Lucky for us, Borat’s lack of cultural etiquette results in some of the most delightfully hilarious bigotry in recent cinema.
Indeed, perhaps the best thing about Borat is that it is tolerant in its portrayal of intolerance – there is something to offend everyone. Homosexuals, women, Jews and Christians are only a few of the groups that come under the scrutiny of Borat’s insensitivity. And yet, the Kazakhstani reporter is so charmingly child-like in his ignorance we can’t help but smile and support him in his pursuit of knowledge and acceptance. Not since last year’s The 40-Year Old Virgin has a comic lead exuded such an atmosphere of innocence and genuine sweetness.
The film moves along at a brisk pace, and crams a lot of laughs into its 82-minute run time. Though a few jokes aren’t quite as humorous as others, you’ll still be chuckling hard enough from the last wisecrack to care. There’s an unrestrained randomness to all the quips and jabs, and part of the fun is trying to guess what outrageous claims our dear journalist will make next.
After all, there’s a purpose to all the political incorrectness. What makes Borat such an effective comedy is that it goes beyond simply telling jokes, and emerges as a biting and relevant social satire that reveals the hypocrisy behind prejudice and discrimination. Borat views women as inferior, yet spends the entire film in pursuit of one. He is uncomfortable around gays, but his actions often contain blatant homosexual undertones. His nationalism borders on fanatical, yet he holds the United States in the highest esteem. And is it mere coincidence that the character of Borat is exaggeratedly paranoid in his anti-Semitism, yet actor Sacha Baron Cohen is Jewish? There’s a message at work behind the scenes for those willing to look for it, but this film is funny enough to satisfy those that just want to sit back and enjoy the cultural learnings.
When all is said and done, Borat is the best comedy of the year. As a certain journalist might put it: Niiiice!
Rating: 9/10
Television sketches rarely make good films. If there’s anything the myriad of SNL-inspired movies have taught us, it’s that five-minute skits don’t switch mediums very smoothly - Wayne’s World being the sole exception. The latest in the attempts to translate an idea across media forms is Borat, a film based on a series of sketches shown on Da Ali G Show. Surprisingly, not only does the concept fit snugly into a longer timeframe, but it also happens to be uproariously funny.
The film follows Borat Sagdiyev, a television journalist from Kazakhstan who is assigned to report on the United States, believing this will enrich the people of his home country. With documentary film crew in tow, he goes from coast to coast interviewing people from a variety of backgrounds and worldviews. It isn’t long before Borat is making a fool of himself and saying things most people would deem inappropriate at least, and inflammatory at worst.
Borat comes from a backwards country, and combined with the fact that he isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, his naïve assumptions about American culture leave more than a few shocked and insulted. Lucky for us, Borat’s lack of cultural etiquette results in some of the most delightfully hilarious bigotry in recent cinema.
Indeed, perhaps the best thing about Borat is that it is tolerant in its portrayal of intolerance – there is something to offend everyone. Homosexuals, women, Jews and Christians are only a few of the groups that come under the scrutiny of Borat’s insensitivity. And yet, the Kazakhstani reporter is so charmingly child-like in his ignorance we can’t help but smile and support him in his pursuit of knowledge and acceptance. Not since last year’s The 40-Year Old Virgin has a comic lead exuded such an atmosphere of innocence and genuine sweetness.
The film moves along at a brisk pace, and crams a lot of laughs into its 82-minute run time. Though a few jokes aren’t quite as humorous as others, you’ll still be chuckling hard enough from the last wisecrack to care. There’s an unrestrained randomness to all the quips and jabs, and part of the fun is trying to guess what outrageous claims our dear journalist will make next.
After all, there’s a purpose to all the political incorrectness. What makes Borat such an effective comedy is that it goes beyond simply telling jokes, and emerges as a biting and relevant social satire that reveals the hypocrisy behind prejudice and discrimination. Borat views women as inferior, yet spends the entire film in pursuit of one. He is uncomfortable around gays, but his actions often contain blatant homosexual undertones. His nationalism borders on fanatical, yet he holds the United States in the highest esteem. And is it mere coincidence that the character of Borat is exaggeratedly paranoid in his anti-Semitism, yet actor Sacha Baron Cohen is Jewish? There’s a message at work behind the scenes for those willing to look for it, but this film is funny enough to satisfy those that just want to sit back and enjoy the cultural learnings.
When all is said and done, Borat is the best comedy of the year. As a certain journalist might put it: Niiiice!
Rating: 9/10
posted by Andrew Johnson at 5:03 PM
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