Borat

source: Borat

Not a very amusing premise. One not very funny joke that just goes on and on long past its expiration date. I'd like my time and money back. Many of those in the apparent target market won't realize the real joke is on them. Several of the unwitting 'stars' of the movie are now suing, but I have to believe that they were only exposing their true feelings when they said and did what was shown in the movie. Some of the others featured in the movie were trying to be nice and helpful, but were cruelly insulted and embarrassed. It really isn't funny to keep pushing people to see just how far you can go before they stop being polite to you. Especially when that doesn't end the rudeness. Humor doesn't need to be Politically Correct, but it does need to be funny. This movie was not funny.

I missed the first advance screening last month, so I was sure to be first in line for the second advance screening!! Anyway, this film perfectly blends a scripted story with Borat's unscripted encounters to be a film that is definitely the funniest (and most offensive) movie of the year. A great "road trip" movie, imagine "Up in Smoke" meets "Jackass". Any fan of Sascha Cohen will definitely be pleased, and unsuspecting viewers will watch this movie with their jaws wide open. I'm not even sure which scenes were scripted and which ones were real? Does anybody else out there know?

From all the hype I was expecting an hilarious comedic masterpiece. Turned out to be Latka from Taxi does Jackass. Like all bad "comedy" or satire it drops to the lowest level, i.e crude sexual innuendo, bathroom humor, foul language, cheap laughs at the expense of others. There's some laughs in this, but they are strained and infrequent.This could have been a much better movie, but save for the few humorous moments, it relies on making fools of unsuspecting people for most of its laughs. This is its main flaw, and I found it uncomfortable to watch.Save your money. There's also nothing really original here. This is a DVD movie, and only when there's nothing else to rent....

While even I have to admit there were moments where I laughed out loud at the idiocy of some of the people "Borat" meets in his cross-country journey, this movie was just too much. It goes too far, is too crass, and while the idea is beautifully crafted politically, it loses its focus. You will surely enjoy his portrayal of the idiotic American (everything from bigot hick to religious fanatic to drunken frat boy), but the "glorious nation of Kazakhstan" doesn't stop there. I could even put up with the defamation of our National Anthem and the constant barrage of sexual situations, but it goes even further than that! I don't consider myself a prude when it comes to movies, but I'm warning you now, Borat will have you leaving the theater in discomfort and confused as to where your 9 dollars went. The racist and sexist stuff I can take with a grain of salt, but it was the excessive (and pointless: the movie could have been terrific without it) nudity that finally pushed it over the top for me. Borat is just too much.

R for pervasive, strong, crude and sexual content, including graphic nudity, and language. With his wide-eyed, pasted-on grin, thick mustache and loping Groucho Marx gait, Borat is a profane innocent with a will of steel, as earnest as he is devious, someone who is so much a product of his stridently politically incorrect culture that his actions are intended to make us question aspects of our own. I was very disappointed with the movie. I had a few laughs, but it was not worth the money and i would never watch it again. I like him better just on "T.V.". Most of "Borat" involves the man's journey to "the U.S. and A." with his producer, Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davitian). The trip begins in New York City and ends, after Borat falls in love with Pamela Anderson via old "Baywatch" episodes, with a cross-country drive to California in a dilapidated ice cream van.

Sacha Baron Cohen comes to America in the guise of Borat Sagdiyev and wreaks his own brand of Kazakhi havoc in this very very funny film. In our age of uber-political correctness, "Borat" comes sweeping through like a brisk and refreshing wind, completely bounding over every cultural taboo we've erected around ourselves. Thus, no one is safe: Borat takes on Jews, blacks, gays, feminists, middle-Americans, religious fanatics, frat boys. The only weapon against the bumbling Borat is a sense of humour, which this movie shows most Americans painfully lack. Indeed, if there is any message to be had from "Borat" (and I'm not sure there is much of one, beyond its fascinating cultural experiments), it's that everyone needs to lighten up and not take themselves so seriously. The image of Americans projected in this film varies from the heartwarming to the downright frightening. New Yorkers threaten Borat with physical violence when he approaches them on a subway. Feminists walk out on him when they find his views on women too much to tolerate. Folks out in the heartland commiserate with him over his hatred of gays and Jews; a gun shop owner even helps him pick out the best weapon for shooting Jewish people. A sweet Jewish couple give him a place to sleep, and bring him a homey meal (that is, before they turn into invading cockroaches). A group of manic Pentecosts help him find Jesus. An RV full of frat boys make complete asses of themselves by espousing their hopelessly ill-informed views on minorities in our country and the need to revert to slavery. The majority of people treat Borat in the condescending way of those who want to think of themselves as being culturally aware without really knowing anything at all about other cultures. These people become rude the second Borat offends their sense of propriety. On the other hand, the disenfranchised of America greet Borat with open arms, and we see a group of gays and a group of blacks interacting with him as if no cultural boundaries existed at all. The film's sweetest (and most unexpectedly so) moments come from Borat's befriending of a black prostitute. Of course, this is a carefully crafted work of fiction, and Cohen only lets his audience see what he wants them to see. I would probably react much the same as many of the people in this film if this crazy-looking and sounding man appeared out of nowhere and began to antagonize me. But the movie does make Americans look like a bunch of awfully self-important, uptight stiffs, and I've been to enough places in this country and met enough people to realize that the way events play out in this film (even if they are manipulated or staged) probably come very close to the real thing. Thank God for movies like "Borat." If nothing else, they remind us that our cultural boundaries only matter as much as we let them, and that all of the fears that govern political correctness are mostly ungrounded. After all, virtually every person in this film was offended at one point or another, and as far as I can tell, all of them lived to tell about it. Grade: A

I just had a chance to see this movie last week at a test screening and I must say I think it is the funniest thing I have ever seen on the big screen. I hope the final version includes the racier scenes and the MPAA doesn't pressure them to edit it (but they would surely be included on the DVD release). Basically it is a two hour journey following Borat across the U.S while he meets and greets all sorts of characters along the way. I don't want to give anything away but it manages to capture the hilarity of Borat from Da Ali G Show and hold it for the entire film. I was worried before I saw it because movies have a way of destroying all expectations brought forth from another medium but this film lives up to the challenge. Anyone who is a fan of the show will find themselves on the edge of their seats, trying not to spray urine on those close to them. We ran into Sacha after the screening and he gave us word that the release date was sometime over the summer, nothing specific but definitely something to look forward to.

Sasha Cohen pretends to be a reporter visiting America and makes fun of people in the process. I understand the humor. I get the jokes. I just don't find them funny. Yes I'm in that seemingly small group of people who don't find Borat funny, or even particularly clever. No, I'm not a fan of Ali G, one of Cohen's other characters and who's show was the source of the Borat character. Forgive me the jokes aren't all that clever, it seems his jokes are low rent Monty Python malapropisms or jokes so stupid I doubt most cut rate vaudevillians wouldn't have touched them. Am I bothered by Cohen using these seemingly innocent as foils? partly because they were set up to look stupid and didn't fall into their own trap, then again my feelings are mitigated by the fact I can't believe that no one caught on (of course if they did we wouldn't see that). I am bothered by his "I'm so much cleverer than you attitude that pervades the film. Clearly he's amused by the joke he's telling which is all that matters. I sat there stone faced for 80 minutes.

Wonderfull movie. You laugh until you cry. A perfect portrait of american culture.