The Rant - Borat:Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

I went to see Borat over the weekend with high expectations. I was kind of dismayed when I had heard earlier that the movies release was being scaled back in fear of the movie being offensive. Still, I was excited and it's been on the "must-see" list for me, ever since I saw the first trailer. I've been a fan of Borat and Sasha Baron Cohen ever since HBO's Ali G. Show, but I was skeptical of whether the character of Borat could carry an entire movie. Part of it is that I'm protective when favorites of mine get exposed to the general public like this. Ali G. and Borat were kind of like Mr. Show in the sense that not everyone will "get it", it's something I enjoy, I don't want other people who might not "get it" to enjoy it anyway and ruin it for me. It's very exclusionary 90's Indie Rock of me, and yes, I know it's a shitty elitist attitude. Anyway, as usual, this is not a full fledged review, just some impressions of the movie.

First of all, I haven't laughed so hard in a movie since There's Something About Mary. The first hour or so and the bits therein are TC and M Hall of Fame worthy. Starting with the alternate universe that Borat lays out for us in the opening of the movie to the much publicized nude male wrestling scene the first 3/4 of the movie are non-stop shocking, offensive, laughs. Some of the Ali G. fans will recognize the humor coach and the southern etiquette instructor bits, while the rodeo scene is a more politically charged version of Borat's visit to a minor league baseball game. Still it doesn't matter, in context the old bits still play fresh and the new segments are simply riotous.

The whole concept of Running of the Jew, floored me, and it pretty much sets the tone. While the character of Borat may be an Anti-Semite, don't believe the hype that this is main undercurrent of the movie. Still, I can see people throwing dollar bills to ward off their Jewish friends imitating the act in the movie...well at least that's what I'm going to do as soon as I seen some of them.

What I love most about Borat is what he reveals about the American public. We're tolerant of the things that might offend us if we think the person doesn't know any better. However, we're also more likely to spew openly about our prejudices once we know that the person might sympathize.

Sasha Baron Cohen keeps the character of Borat good-hearted and well-meaning. Anything offensive that comes out of Borat's mouth is in "character" and is never mean spirited. Well except for one scene...

The only negative part of the movie is the slowdown in the last act. The problem is if you have downtime in a movie like this the facade starts to wear thin and it starts to feel like an ordinary movie. Thinking time is bad since it gives you time to wonder what's scripted and what's not, which is poison for this type of film.

So unless you are extremely thin skinned, I highly recommend that you check it out.

I wrote the bulk of this last night...here's a Monday update...
Wow. Borat is the number one movie in America, making apx. 26 million over the weekend, even in a scaled back release!

Borat has also received a staggering 96% on the Rotten Tomatoes Critic Tomatometer, which I've never seen before. A non-formulaic comedy that's both a critical and commercial success? This almost makes up for Snakes on a Plane, Society! (pause) NOT!