BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS ...

Director: Larry Charles (TV work)
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian

I have mixed feelings on this year's most noted comedy success, Borat, but on the whole it was so original that it has to be praised. First off, it was a very funny picture. I also have to admit that its message about American intolerance was well presented. I mean there is no doubt that only the rarest of comedies work as both humor and with some measure of substance underneath. On the flip side, I was often uncomfortable as Borat's interactions with average Americans crossed into simple childish mockery.

Cohen's Borat character (originating on his HBO 'Ali G' show) basically films his interactions with unsuspecting real people. For the world of cinema, this is new territory. It's been done on the Ali G show and John Stewart's Daily show for years now, though, and I will admit I don't really like these gotcha, mocking interviews of their unaware (on many levels) victims. I never have. At times the Daily Show would mock interview those at a KKK rally and I'd find myself feeling sorry for the nutcase klansman as the TV interviewers were so rude as to lower themselves nearly to the level of those they were interviewing. I think that Cohen understands this dilema in what he's doing. It's obvious to me that he spends quite a lot of effort trying to walk a fine line between showing the character flaws in his interviewees without rudely mocking them. At times he succeeds, at others I thought he failed.

The point of this movie is to allow Americans to voice their true beliefs (about Jews, blacks, religion, etiquette, etc) to the silly Borat character. The plot follows Borat as he's sent on a mission from his home country of Kazakhstan to learn about America. The premise is that America is the greatest country on earth and the backward Kazakh peoples can learn much from the great culture of the US of A. We then follow along as Borat encounters one fool after another across our great land. This is a great idea, and as a whole it worked.

We see how the audience at a rodeo reacts to his missteps. Like everyone else I especially liked the line where he praises Premier George Bush's 'War of Terror' and the crowd roared its approval. We see him ride along in an RV with some terrifically drunk frat boys while they slur various anti-black, and anti-women slurs. We see him go to a fundamentalist faith-healing where the true believers hop around frighteningly, wallowing in their religious ecstasy. This scene gave me a start as I personally did the same thing many years ago. Some friends and I thought it would be funny to get faith-healed on TV. I did, and it was funny. It's definitely the kind of thing you'd only do as a kid, however. I now feel far more pity for them than derision. Ah, growing up. That's the thing though, this film doesn't seem to feel this way. I didn't get the slightest sense of pity or understanding about those it showcased. It just showed how wrong they were.

Standouts: Incredibly funny at times. Great statement on Americans' intolerance and foolishness. A highly original, unique feature film.
Blowouts: The occasionally rude, mocking interactions with the unaware 'interviewees'.

Grade: A-