Classic film on a par with Monty Python
Jewish Telegraph, November 2006
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (15)
IMAGINE: Mel Gibson walks into a gun shop and asks the owner which is the best weapon to “defend him from the Jews”. The media would have a field day.
Now imagine, Kazakhstan’s top journalist Borat Sagdiyev goes into a gun shop and asks the same question.
Same result? No chance. Queue mass hysteria followed by even more laughter when the shop owner actually answers the question as if it was a normal everyday query.
As Borat is played by Sacha Baron Cohen, it is OK for his creation to be antisemitic.
So in this incredibly funny film, we see his fellow villagers taking part in the annual ‘Running of the Jew’ and a rabbi being crucified and . . .
The list goes on. But we aren’t laughing at Borat’s antisemitism, because we are in on the joke; we are laughing at the reaction.
In the TV series when Borat sang Throw The Jew Down The Well, we laughed because the idiots in the club joined in the chorus.
And in the film, we laugh as Borat believes an elderly Jewish couple are shapeshifters who want to poison him.
There is so much to be offended by in Borat but the great success of the film is that we aren’t offended.
If you heard someone on the street refer to a black man as a “chocolate face” you would be in uproar. But Borat, an innocent abroad, gets away with it.
The film begins in Borat’s village which has had the Kazakhi government screaming blue murder.
It’s such a backward place where the local rapist is a celebrity and prostitution is something to be proud of.
So Borat is sent to America to learn ways to make his country better.
He heads off with his producer Azamat Bagatov, who you see just a little too much of later inthe film.
But while in the US and A, he sees an episode of Baywatch on television and decides he has to go to California to marry Pamela Anderson.
As they cross the country in an old ice cream van, accompanied by a bear (don’t ask), they meet — and insult — a wide variety of people.
From inviting a prostitute to a posh dinner party, to telling a feminist to “smile pussycat”, there are many moments to make you squirm.
At the start of each scene, there is an uneasiness at what is about to unfold before your eyes.
For example, when Borat and Azamat stray into the wrong side of town, the hapless reporter approaches a group of black men, who we are guilty of perceiving as up to no good.
He isn’t too racist to their faces, although he does make a few comments which luckily for him they don’t act upon.
There are many moment when you feel that Baron Cohen has pushed his victims too far. He gets threatened quite often, either with violence or the police. But he never backs down, he just keeps pushing.
As a huge fan of comedy films, I have to rank this as one of the greatest. It is easily on a par with Monty Python’s Holy Grail and Life of Brian, This is Spinal Tap and Steve Martin’s The Man With Two Brains.
Rarely does the laughter stop and in some cases, it was hard to see the film with tears pouring down my face.
The scene where Borat and Azamat wrestle naked is in the top five funniest moments in a film — whilst at the same time being the number one grossest scene ever.
Borat was always Baron Cohen’s greatest character. This is the film that Ali G Indahouse needed to be. Both characters’ strengths are in their interview techniques. But Ali G Indahouse became a normal film about Ali’s life.
It would have worked better if it had just been a copy of the TV show. Sacha learned from his mistake and used it to make Borat such an incredible piece of work.
This film cements Baron Cohen’s place as a true comedic genius. He may not be on equal terms with John Cleese, Steve Martin or Peter Sellers just yet, but he has the potential to eclipse them all. He is stunning — a masterclass in comedy.
It will be interesting to see what he has in store when he turns his third character, Bruno, into a film.
So often, films that are so heavily hyped prove to be totally disappointing, but this is not the case with Borat. Everything you heard, every expectation you had, everything you could have dreamed of is fulfilled.
You have to question whether some of it was staged, but overall this question does not detract from the entertainment.
At under 90 minutes, Borat does not outstay his welcome but is just about perfect.
And one can only hope that there is plenty of extra material which will see the light of day on DVD.
If so, it will be the most essential DVD of the century.
