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If the creators of Borat knew just how much buzz they'd get from Thursday night's projector malfunction they'd probably have taken a club to the machine themselves. So here we are 24 hours later and finally through a whole screening of Borat.
We're telling you now. Don't go see Borat because a couple of months after this film hits widespread release it'll insinuate itself into the cultural zeitgeist faster than a Kazakh prostitute (the cleanest in the region, according to Borat) throws you out of bed after you've done your business. And once that happens there'll be no escaping it. Your friends will quote lines, blue-grey suits and bad moustaches will be the rage this Halloween, run down ice cream trucks will be the hipster vehicle of choice.
But if you want to be first among your friends to spout Boranisms or remind each other about the frightening Pentecostals, the drunken frat boys and irate rodeo-goers that populate Borat's America then go right ahead get in that rush line. Yes, the movie is funny and yes there are some genuinely painfully funny and frightening moments in this film. But after a while even the best jokes get old. In the case of Borat we think that day will come much too quickly. 3.5/5
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Unfortunately, that's always been my beef with all of the Ali G characters - they're good in moderation. They're all very shallow and simple (hilarious, but shallow and simple), so they wear thin quickly. Borat was the only character of the three that I wasn't tired of yet, and this movie will probably do it for me.
I think the movie was great. Sasha really pushes a LOT of boundaries with this one. The only problem is that this is really for a niche audience, and only that niche audience who know anything about Sasha will appreciate and understand fully what is going on. Regardless, I've never been in an audience where the vast vast majority of the audience were laughing at every possible joke. Even better was that Borat elicits many types of laughter, from the uncomfortable breathing-in smile, to the loudest guffaw... and all from throwing money at cockroaches.
But that fight in the hotel was GOLDEN (and completely terrifying.)
Sasha Baron Cohen's characters are anything but shallow. They work on the primary comedic level, demonstrate the ridiculousness of racism and intolerance in his interviewees and also make the audience question their own stereotypes and preconceived notions (e.g. the atlanta georgia scene). Unfortunately people often miss the layers to his comedy, not unlike Dave Chappelle.
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