If you are already a fan of Sacha Baron Cohen's Kazakh journalist, Borat, then I probably do not need to do much convincing for you to see the film adaptation, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
I have always been slightly ashamed that Borat's spell has always worked effectively to make me laugh, but the film has removed that shame and replaced it with some embarrassment. It is, however, undeniable that Borat is one of the funniest films I have seen in many years, but still there is some depth and insight for those that want at least a little social commentary.
If you were planning on watching this film, you don't need to read the rest of this review. Borat is extremely entertaining, and I am giving it a 4-stiletto score.
If you are still reading, I would like to begin by stating that I did not need very much convincing to see this film, as I had been anticipating it for quite some time. I was originally introduced to Borat by my friend and source of much geek information, Sofiane, with whom I went to see Borat.
As I reported on some of the marketing for this movie, I had feared that too much of the movie was being revealed in the hilarious trailer (see HERE). My fear turned out to be true for the first half of the film, which is only one hour and twenty-five minutes long. Nevertheless, even in the first half there are still some surprises, and the funniest moments of the entire film have not been spoiled in any way by the trailer. Since watching that trailer, I had been avoiding any other marketing materials, but I was sad to see that they were trying so hard to spread the hype around Borat. I am certain that in North America at least, people must have been getting sick of the over-marketing.
There is not much in terms of a story, and the film is largely made up in the same style as the various Borat sketches that have been made for Da Ali G Show, but I think that director Larry Charles deserves praise for successfully putting together such an entertaining film. It is the mark of confidence in a director, in my opinion, when he or she can take a cult phenomenon such as Borat, and remain unobtrusive in his or her approach. The result is a genuine piece of work that will certainly not disappoint the fans, but will surely attract new ones among those who discover Borat through this film.
Sacha Baron Cohen delivers a terrific performance as the Kazakh journalist, and it is truly impressive to see him remain in character when placed in some riotous and awkward situations. Cohen is joined here by Ken Davitian as Borat's producer, Azamat. This is the only other fictional character in the film, and their adventures across America bring about not only some painful funny moments, but some truly frightening, and in a couple of other cases endearing moments.
The music is very much in tune with the general whimsical mood of the film, and is largely composed of gypsy music. I noticed several bits of music from Goran Bregovic, and Sacha Baron Cohen’s brother, Erran, composed all the original music used in the film. It is very suitable to the tone of the film, and perhaps not very noticeable, but in the first minutes it helps to put the viewer in the right mood.
One of the major difficulties of any comedy, even some of the funniest comedies of the past few years, has been to make a story that is not formulaic. It seems that the stories are always strung together with the focus being made on the various gags or jokes in a comedy (with some exceptions of course, notably Shaun of the Dead). In Borat, there was really no attempt at doing such a thing, and this decision was perhaps not very difficult to make since it adds to the genuineness of the film, and also because the gags and interviews themselves are diverse and strong enough to work without much added padding. This lack of pretentiousness in putting the film together also fits very nicely to the unpretentious Borat, and the candid approach taken through the character in general exposes the ugly aspects of some of the people that were "interviewed." When watching the film, it could be interesting to see which people turn out to be the most amiable toward Borat, but the aggressiveness or ignorance of others is chilling.
Since the story is virtually non-existent, it can be quite difficult to judge this film. Nevertheless, its saving grace as a film is that what little story there may be comes to a glorious finish, an end that is truly shocking and hysterical.
His name a Borat, he like you. And you will like him.
