Sacha Baron Cohen is unapologetically offensive, and it’s shocking how he gets away with most of his pranks. He’s the type of guy that understands idiots and knows how to keep them talking long enough to reveal the bizarre views they usually conceal. Cohen’s completely aware of how far he can push the joke before they realize what’s going on. His comedy skits are basically performance art, it’s all thanks to his amazing improvisation skills. If you haven’t seen Da Ali G Show, where he plays as a British man who wants to be black, you’re in for a treat.
How to Stream or Download Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
To stream or to download the film from a digital store, click on the Download button at the end of the review.
The Movie Review
Borat Sagdiyev, a TV reporter in Kazakhstan, goes to America to produce a documentary about the “best country on the planet” in order for Kazakhstan to learn from it. He and his crew come in New York City to conduct street interviews and report on the cultures of the United States.
Together with his producer, Azamat Bagatov, Borat begins to learn about American culture and etiquette, specifically when using the toilet and elevator. After seeing Baywatch, Borat falls passionately in love with Pamela Anderson. Forgetting about his original mission, he tricks Azamat on a roadtrip to California in a shabby van stuffed with various animals – as he ventures out on a quest to marry the actress Pamela Anderson.
Sacha Baron Cohen mostly wrote the screenplay with Anthony Hines, and co-produced the film with Jay Roach, director of the Austin Powers trilogy. The film combines scripted segments about Borat’s adventures in America filming a documentary with actual scenes of Cohen messing with Americans.
The plot isn’t actually important here, the beauty is the chaos that unfolds when he starts screwing around. Although his character is strongly anti-Semitic, Cohen is actually Jewish himself. It definitely takes a lot of balls to do a film like Borat, but only a genius can get away with it. Sacha Baron Cohen is a genius.
It feels sadistic to say that I enjoyed Borat. It’s painful to see Borat put his victims in uncomfortable situations, but what makes it so funny is that the victims reactions are unscripted.
Honestly, it was hard to tell which ones were real or scripted. Borat butchers the National Anthem at a rodeo and gets booed at, he goes on a road trip in an RV with drunk frat boys, then visits a Bed & Breakfast run by a Jewish couple.
But the movie reveals something deeper, what Cohen really does is use Borat to demonstrate America’s intolerance and condescending beliefs. The real humor in this film is the hypocrisy, racism, paranoia, and blindness that his outrageous behavior sparks in others.
Cohen’s performance is amazing, especially when he never fails to break character. Borat is rude and incredibly stupid, but he’s also lovable. Most of it is because he makes fun of himself more than the people around him, so it’s hard to be mad at this guy. He carries the entire film on his shoulders and manages to keep our attention throughout.
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan isn’t for everyone. Conservative viewers may find the toilet jokes repulsive, Eastern Europeans may be unhappy with Cohen’s cosplay, and religious people will definitely gasp.
The rest of us, on the other hand, should have a blast. The first time I saw Borat, I found the gags more shocking than they are funny. But after rewatching them, I started to find their reactions funny. Watch this movie in your own discretion, it’s cruel and politically incorrect.
