Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, or as I like to call it Borat!, is a comedy masterpiece. It’s a mind-blowing phenomenon that gives us a look into the stupid, bigoted, racist, and at times kind America. A lot of people felt that the movie pointed out how stupid Americans are, and in some cases it does, but it also showed how polite and kind many Americans are. It’s safe to say that you’ll find the same kind of people you see in the movie anywhere you go in the world, and the ugliness isn’t limited to just the U.S.
Borat Sagdiyev is a character invented by Sacha Baron Cohen for segments of Da Ali G Show, which was on HBO. He poses as a correspondent from Kazakhstan here to learn about American culture. In the process he roots out hilarious misconceptions and stereotypes, making those he encounter look like idiots, or making himself look like the idiot.
The movie follows Borat as he films a documentary in the US, learning about American culture. While here he falls in love with Pamela Anderson, referring to her as C.J., her Baywatch persona, and decides to travel across the country to meet her. I don’t want to ruin things for you, but I’ll give you a little sample as to some of the hilarity that ensues through out the movie. Borat is asked to sing the National Anthem at a rodeo. He thanks the crowd and in showing support to the US he says ”We support your war of terror! May George W. Bush drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq! May the land be destroyed that not even a lizard may live there for a thousand years!”. The great thing is that people actually applauded him!
Only a few scene through the movie were staged or had participants in on the joke; Borat, Azamat, Luenell the prostitute and Pamela Anderson were in on it. Everyone else were unwitting participants and it made for some very uncomfortable scenes. It’s been reported that Borat’s antics led to police being called on 91 different occasions during filming. Some other interesting tidbits include Cohen speaking Hebrew in the film, while Ken Davitian, who plays Azamat, speaks the Eastern dialect of Armenian under his breath. No Kazakh was spoken during the entire movie.
This movie had me laughing non-stop, it was that good. Go rent it today!