Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for blah blah blah ***

Also reviewed by: Dipu

I've seen Da Ali G Show, and I've heard bits and pieces about the movie (mostly about the people who are filing lawsuits against its makers). So, I thought I had the movie figured out. It still managed to surprise me, make me writhe uncomfortably in my seat, and laugh my head off.

In reviews of this movie, the term "fearless" comes up a lot. And it's true. As he poses as a Kazach journalist touring the US, Sascha Baron Cohen fearlessly, relentlessly presses people way past the point of social politeness. I couldn't possibly stand to do what he does, which is half the fun of watching him do it. The way Americans respond to him reveals two things: Lots of people in the US are really polite, and lots of people in the US are still racist, sexist, and homophobic. Not a surprise, but it's good to expose the truth using humor.

The following quote from a review in the Minneapolis Star Tribune sums it up nicely: "Conceptually brilliant and fearlessly executed, it rewrites the rules of screen comedy, presenting something never before seen on film: a gene-splice of Andy Kaufman's high-wire character humor and caught-on-the-street pranks from Punk'd."