Product Description
-------------------
Sacha Baron Cohen brings his Kazakh journalist character Borat
Sagdiyev to the big screen for the first time. Leaving his native
Kazakhstan, Borat travels to America to make a documentary. As he
zigzags across the nation, Borat meets real people in real
situations with hysterical consequences. His backwards behavior
generates strong reactions around him exposing prejudices and
hypocrisies in American culture.
.com
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It takes a certain kind of comic genius to create a character who
is, to quote the classic Sondheim lyric, appealing and appalling.
But be forewarned: Borat is not "something for everyone." It
arrives as advertised as one of the most outrageous, most
offensive, and funniest films in years. Kazakhstan journalist
Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen reprising the popular character
from his Da Ali G Show), leaves his humble village to come to
"U.S. and A" to film a documentary. After catching an episode of
Baywatch in his New York hotel room, he impulsively scuttles his
plans and, accompanied by his , hirsute producer (Hardy to his
Laurel), proceeds to California to pursue the object of his
obsession, Pamela Anderson. Borat is not about how he finds
America; it's about how America finds him in a series of
increasingly cringe-worthy scenes. Borat, with his '70s mustache,
well-worn grey suit, and outrageously backwards attitudes
(especially where Jews are concerned) interacts with a
cross-section of the populace, catching them, a la Alan Funt on
Candid Camera, in the act of being themselves. Early on, an
unwitting humor coach advises Borat about various types of jokes.
Borat asks if his brother's retardation is a ripe subject for
comedy. The coach patiently replies, "That would not be funny in
America." NOT! Borat is subversively, bracingly funny. When it
comes to exploring uncharted territory of what is and is not
appropriate or politically correct, Borat knows no boundaries, as
when he brings a fancy dinner with the southern gentry to a halt
after returning from the bathroom with a bag of his feces ("The
cultural differences are vast," his hostess
graciously/patronizingly offers), or turns cheers to boos at a
rodeo when he calls for bloodlust against the Iraqis and mangles
"The Star Spangled Banner."
Success, John F. Kennedy once said, has a thousand hers. A
paternity test on Borat might reveal traces of Bill Dana's Jose
Jimenez, Andy Kaufman, Michael Moore, The Jamie Kennedy
Xperiment, and Jackass. Some scenes seem to have been staged (a
game Anderson, whom Borat confronts at a book signing, was
reportedly in on the setup), but others, as the growing litany of
lawsuits attests, were not. All too real is Borat's encounter
with loutish Southern frat boys who reveal their sexism and
racism, and the disturbing moment when he asks a store owner
what he would recommend to "kill a Jew" (a Glock automatic is
the matter-of-fact reply). Comedy is not pretty, and in Borat it
can get downright ugly, as when Borat and his producer get jiggly
with it during a nude fight that spills out from their hotel room
into the hallway, elevator, lobby and finally, a mortgage brokers
association banquet. High-five! --Donald Liebenson
On the DVD
"Global Visitings" captures Borat-mania in all its hype and
glory, as Sacha Baron Cohen, never breaking character, promotes
his film around the world. On the itinerary is Late Night with
Conan O'Brien and the Toronto Film Festival, a now-legendary
screening aborted after a projector malfunction. A mixed bag of
deleted scenes finds Borat trying to bait more unsuspecting
citizens, including an animal-control worker who refuses Borat a
dog after he asks, "How do you recommend I cook this?" and a
doctor who is nonplussed by Borat's obscene medical history. A
supermarket visit offers the most maddening fromage-inspired
looniness since Monty Python's "Cheese Shop" sketch. Also good
for a few chuckles are a faux soundtrack commercial and a
Baywatch parody ("Sexydangerwatch"). --Donald Liebenson
Beyond Borat
All things Sacha Baron Cohen (
/gp/imdb/actor/nm0056187/ref=imdbfl_a_0/104-1452272-3928764 )
Borat Apparel (
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)
Borat Soundtrack (
/dp/B000IHYWCC/sr=8-2/qid=1169235459/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/104-1452272-3928764?ie=UTF8&s=music
)
Stills from Borat (click for larger image)
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