BIG MOVIE FREAK

But, if you do get these jokes, then you’re in for a hell of a ride! This is easily the funniest movie of the year, funnier than The 40-Year-Old Virgin, The Big Lebowski; heck maybe even Monty Python and the Holy Grail! I have to compose myself for now, and re-evaluate the movie once the hype is down (Borat got Golden Globe noms**!) and the DVD is released before I let it overthrow the Pythons from the top of my personal Top Comedies list. - BMF

*sabotage
**UPDATED 16/1/07: It won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical for Sacha Baron Cohen

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Sabo King
Synopsis: “Renown” Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his news crew, including producer Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davitian) embark on an expedition to “the U.S. of A.” to do a study on the “advanced culture” there that can be useful for the cultural progress of his own people. During his visit, Borat accidentally discovers the Well-endowed One on a Baywatch rerun, and selfishly diverts the expedition towards searching for his newfound love, much to the dismay of his money-tight producer.

One of the problems with Borat is that it never spells out its true intentions at any time throughout the movie. You either get the joke, or think Borat is pointlessly offensive, vulgar and politically incorrect. Plus, it is also essential to know that Cohen (not Borat) is a Jew himself before you can understand the Jew-related jokes in the movie. I doubt there are many people in this part of Asia who can tell that from his surname.

Borat gets most of its laughs from poking fun at some big taboos – including prejudices against homosexuals and racism, and does so with a clever twist. Instead of a conventionally shot movie, Borat is actually a semi-documentary with Sacha Baron Cohen interviewing real-life people, ranging from regular folks to U.S. congressmen, while in character. By impersonating not only a Kazakh reporter, but an outwardly sexist, racist and homophobic one, Cohen provides a reason for some of his interviewees to let their guard down in his presence, and expose their true bigoted self. Cohen then proceeds to “sabo*” these unsuspecting people; e.g. the largely white rodeo crowd who obliviously cheered when he proclaimed his “support on your war of terror.” Before you sympathise with these people for being tricked into doing something they don’t want to, note that this is no Candid Camera or Punk’d stunt with hidden cameras, as the interviewees are willing participants in filmed interviews.