Hugo Schwyzer just put up a post about how he "actively loathed" the film:
http://hugoboy.typepad.com/hugo_schwyzer/2006/11/not_merely_disl.html

So there's one...

Make that three of us who didn't like Borat so much.

I'd have to say I liked it less than a typical episode of Da Ali G Show. I'm stunned that critics are hailing it as a masterpiece. It's OK, nothing more.

In an era where the word is overused, Borat was a truly bold undertaking.

My 25-year-old daughter didn't care for it either. Neither did her husband, and they love the Ali G show.

"the lesson was that if you act like a complete whack job you can get ordinary people flustered and flummoxed. This doesn't really strike me as any kind of surprise."

Which make me wonder:

Has the Bush Presidency been a massive hoax????

Didn't really like Borat much...?? It was horrible. Nothing more than a pandering to the base beneath the base of humanity. While it did expose the uglier side of America it made a joke of much that is wrong and did nothing to truely shame it. Just another movie that reminds me of why I need to fight the good fight. I have no respect for those who enjoyed it.

Really the social criticism is pretty thin, and not really what the schtick is directed towards. In short, I think a lot of critics got the movie wrong. What I walked away appreciating is the incredible physical humor: the wrestling scene was truly incredible. Good stand up comedy involves picking out an assumption that a vast majority take for granted and controverting it. (Sarah Silverman is incredible at this). Borat's target, I take it, is simply good manners. Almost all the salesman find Borat peculiar, maybe even offensive, but the follow the salesman decorum: the customer is always right. At least you go away from the movie wondering just how far people will go in the name of just being polite. And how (to take the frat boys) how sometimes just being polite leads to the silencing of all critical thought. I thought the movie had its moments, was kind of brilliant in places, but not for the reason most people seem to think it is. You might say critical reaction is a kind of extension of the point.

Not everything has to have a lesson, Kevin. It's just good fun.

Apparently some passerby on the streets of NY didn't find find his shtick funny either and beat up Sasha Cohen the other night (Cohen was rescued by Hugh Laurie).

I agree with American Hawk.

I liked a helluva lot less than the critics. I thought the physical humor (and there was lots of that) was pitch perfect. I thought a lot of the Americans came off surprisingly well (the driving instructor, the prostitute, the etiquette teacher, the Jewish B&B owners), and that the people who came off poorly deserved it (the frat boys, obviously).

I didn't think it was nearly as much an exercise in making fun of the rubes as some have thought (John Tierney, for instance). I mean, Borat himself is very much an object of derision as much as the Americans he encounters (see again, the Jewish B&B scenes).

But it got repetitive: once you've seen the schtick, you basically know where it's going next. I'd say that his performance is brilliant, but that the movie leaves a lot to be desired.

Stephen COlburt at DC Press Meeting wasn't very funny either.

Hitchens made a similar point on Slate today.
What it really showed was how polite Americans generally are. With that said, it definitely had its amusing moments.

Acting like a whack job isn't funny.

I didn't think Borat was funny at all. Was it supposed to be?

yeah, all my comedy-minded friends raved that this was truly "the funniest movie ever made" but having seen the basic MO on the Ali G show I was dubious.

the low point for me was the scene with the jewish couple (who as I understand it, operate a B&B in rural Georgia and have no doubt dealt with worse in their day), just awful cruel behavior to what seem like 2 ultra-decent people. I was impressed that my audience hated it too and groaned through the whole thing.

I do improv comedy and it's a truism that you try to avoid explicit sex and poop, cause once you go there, you have no where to go. And that's what I felt with this movie. . . it had nowhere to go.

pdp: The "prostitute" was an actress. Like Pamela Anderson, she was in on the joke.

My wife and I were not impressed. Some very funny scenes but on the whole mostly in bad taste and just not entertaining. We also could not believe that some folks brought their children (12 and under). If you haven't seen it, go to a matinee or, better yet, wait for cable.

I'm going to agree. Perhaps it was oversold, but I was underwhelmed.

One thing that struck me, it's a lot funnier when its a politician or someone with some modicum of power that is lured into being a buffoon than when it is the man on the street.

It's what made the Ali G show and the Daily Show and the Colbert Report so intriguing and hilarious (though most folks are in on the joke now).

It's not as if many of the sentiments expressed by the unsuspecting participants can't be heard from the mouths of prominent folks like Pat Robertson and Bill Frist and Rush Limbaugh. It's hard to describe it as exposing the "subconscious" of America (as Time magazine says in a review its newest issue) when some of us willingly put our id on display.

Oh, c'mon, the B&B sequence was brilliant. It was a fabulous payoff to the "Running of the Jew". It becomes obvious that his anti-semitism comes culturally and arises from ignorance.
The scene helps to show just how irrational racism is, the steadily increasing panic is brilliantly portrayed. The naked wrestling was hilarious and the visit to the antique shop specializing in Confederate memorabilia was wonderful as well.

I liked the movie, but prefer the short bits on Da Ali G Show. I think the character and the schtick are much more suited to that format. Ever seen the one where Borat goes door-to-door with a campaigning candidate? Funnier than anything in the movie IMHO:
"He will be strong -- like Stalin."

I'm with KD. Borat was lame and fragmented. low ratings for either social critique or just plain fun. Doesn't hold a candle to either Snakes On A Plane or Jackass #2.

I have seen it all before, but Andy Kauffman was in the lead.

Stirling Newberry hated it. Perhaps you'd feel better reading his commentary?

Me? Haven't seen it yet.

I'm still want to see it as it's getting over the top praise from all circles, but the people trying to pretend the movie has some huge social meaning seem to be stretching.

Andrew Tobias at http://www.andrewtobias.com/ hears from "Vanilla Face" in his November 13 column. If anyone still has any doubts about Cohen's film-making techniques, this will put them to rest. His crew lies to people to trick them into releases and sets them up to look like fools. A little of that sort of "comedy" goes a long way in this world.

A 2006 version of Yakov Smirnoff with boorishness and slapstick added.

But...dude gets seriously hyped everywhere.

Schitk always wears thin quickly.

The backlash and resulting fall off in interest will kick in soon.

the lesson was that if you act like a complete whack job you can get ordinary people flustered and flummoxed. This doesn't really strike me as any kind of surprise.

Nor should it to anyone who's been watching Bush the last six years....

I'm a pretty big Ali G fan but the movie was very weak. Yeah you laugh out loud a few times but you can't help but feel that most of the rave reviewers were not familiar with the show. I also find it incredibly out of character (so to speak) that two of the central alleged set-ups in the movie (the hooker and Pamela) were in on the jokes.

I think the critics praise it so heartily, because they are unfamiliar with the format of Ali G and Borat. If this was my first exposure to the character, I would hail it as a masterpiece too. I was blown away the first time I saw the show. The same thing happened when I saw my first Mr. Show, the one about the hillbilly railing against the Jew run media. Once you see Mr. Show or Borat enough it loses some of its luster, because you realize where the jokes are going.

That being stated, the movie is the funniest movie I have seen this decade. The humor works on so many levels if you know what he is doing or not. I found the B & B to be one of the funniest segments. It was a parody of Blair Witch on one level it was also a joke on Borat's ignorance. He is supposedly this virulent anti-semite but it takes him a long time to realize he is staying with Jewish people. When he throws the money at the cockroaches, the absurdity just had me laughing in stiches as did the him crying with fearinto the camera.

The driving instructor made me think of Kevin Drum.

I think the film is an indictment of capitalism in many ways, how far will a salesman go to make a sale, as it is about ignorance and racism. The whole film shows how unhappy and lonely Borat is in America.

I mean if you don't find the idea of nude hairy men wrestling over the right to masterbate to pictures of Pamela Anderson to be gut busting funny, then I think the problem is more with you than with the film. ;-)

Yeah, some guy named Allen Funt was a real unfunny, obnoxious jerk too. Did he ever finally amount to much? Where the hell do such people get off thinking they can entertain people?

It's just a string of Polish Jokes, with some self-righteous positioning to reassure the politically correct that it's okay to laught at the Stupid Foreigner because we are really laughing at those anti-Semitic Red State Americans.

Just awful. I felt slimed by its mean-spiritedness. Not to mention that it wasn't even funny...

Personally I think Ali G is funnier than Borat. I agree with Sailer, though, I've always gotten the impression that once Cohen arrived in the states, a lot of the undercurrent of his work was a typical, stereotypical, left wing EuroBrit "tut-tutting" of those incredibly bufoonish, unsophisticated right wing Amerinazis. It can be funny stuff. But it can also get tiresome. Quickly.

I haven't seen the movie yet, only the trailers, but it seems to me like stuff Spy magazine used to do where they would spoof people with fake letters, or actors dressed up playing crazy characters, etc.

It's really not that hard to do if you have a big enough budget (IMO).

Borat was OK, but it wasn't the funniest movie ever, as many blogs were being paid to hype it as. They reality fell somewhat short of the hype.

There's been way too much analysis. As usual, everybody is overthinking it. It's just a funny movie (to me at least). Yeah, it showcases the ugly and the good of America, but the whole premise requires mocking the mockable to have any sort of edge at all. If it didn't, you'd be left with Yakoff Smirnoff.

This tendency to microanalyze absoultely everything is getting really annoying really quickly. You found it funny or you didn't. End of story.

What's real in "Borat"?

Everything you wanted to know about the Kazakh road trip -- what was staged, who was an actor, and who was just hapless comedy roadkill.

http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2006/11/10/guide_to_borat/

Nov. 10, 2006 | The devilish pranks of "Borat" have made him the powder-blue polyester breakout hit of the season. But how many of Sacha Baron Cohen's gags are real, and which ones are staged? Which of Borat's victims were legitimately goofed, and which ones just played along for giggles?

With few exceptions, the real folks featured in "Borat," the movie, have been happy to talk about their experience, and outing them has turned into a mini-media craze, with tons of news outlets trying to sniff out the stories behind the making of the film. To save you time and satisfy your curiosity, we tracked down some of Borat's victims on our own and also compiled a guide revealing which figures were in on the joke (Pamela -- say it ain't so!) and which weren't.

But even after our sleuthing, some mysteries remain -- like where the heck did that naked wrestling match take place? No one seems to know.

If you have a clue -- or any great additional information -- please send it to us. This is a work in progress, so be sure to check back in. We think you'll find it very niiice.

The Scene: Borat goes to the rodeo

Where: Salem Civic Center, Salem, Va.

Borat arrives at the rodeo, with plans to sing the national anthem.

The rodeo's producer, Bobby Rowe, helpfully advises Borat to shave his mustache, so as not to be mistaken for a Muslim. When Borat tries to kiss him on the cheek, Rowe tells him never to do that, that people might get the wrong impression that he's gay. After Borat declares, "We hang homosexuals in my country!" Rowe smirkingly responds: "That's what we're trying to do here."

Before launching into the anthem, Borat shrieks, "We support your war of terror" -- to thunderous applause. The crowd's enthusiasm tapers off as Borat voices his wish that "George W. Bush will drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq" and turns into all-out booing once Borat begins to sing the Kazakh national anthem -- during which point a horse, apparently spooked by the crowd, freaks out and falls to the ground with his flag-waving rider.

What happened: The event caused quite a stir. John Saunders, the Salem Civic Center's assistant director, told the Roanoke Times that if Borat and crew hadn't high-tailed it out of the arena, "There would have been a riot. They would have been killed."

Rowe told Salon that he'd agreed to let Borat sing, believing the story that Borat was a Kazakh journalist traveling across the country.

Rowe says he requested a sample track, but was sent a blank CD. And what about those anti-gay comments? Rowe, who says he hasn't seen the film, didn't disavow them, but instead offered a curious rationale:

"As long as [homosexuals] don't mess with me and get me involved, if that's their choice, just have at it. Just don't come in my household and try to demand, as they're doing now, all sorts of things. All this marriage and this mess. If you want to go live together, go live together, but don't drag everyone else into it. It's, like, before you could just pump your gas, but the thieves ruined it for everyone. Now everyone has to go pay for their gas first. Homosexuals, they want their rights for marriage and all this stuff, and they want respectability. If you want to live that life, live that life, but don't involve the whole rest of the country."

Is Rowe concerned about how he comes off in the film? "I'm not really worried about it," he says. "It can't be so bad that I can't survive.

No one's coming and trying to eat me."

The Scene: Borat almost stays at a bed-and-breakfast

Where: Though the film suggests the bed-and-breakfast is somewhere between Atlanta and Dallas, it's actually in Newton, Mass.

Borat arrives at a bed-and-breakfast only to realize that, to his horror, the kindly owners are ... Jewish. Scared into playing nice, Borat hesitantly takes a bite out of a pastrami and rye sandwich they bring to his bedroom -- then spits it out the minute they turn away.

Later that night, convinced that the shape-shifting couple has transformed into a menacing pair of insects, he throws money at them and runs screaming, with his producer Azamat, into the night.

What happened: Mariam and Joseph Behar, the proprietors of the kosher bed-and-breakfast, tell Salon that they rented out three rooms to what they thought was a Kazakh documentarian and his film crew. The location had been scouted and photographed, with the Behars'

knowledge, prior to the taping. Speaking on the telephone, Joseph, with Mariam chatting in the background, says they saw the film and thought it "was not anti-Semitic at all. It was outstanding. I think [Sacha Baron Cohen] is a genius."

Though Borat never broke character, and no one in the production let the Behars in on the joke, Joseph found Borat to be "very lovely and very polite, very attractive."

Joseph says that he first started to have doubts about Borat's authenticity when Borat told him he was going to be married in Malibu.

"I know what kind of people live in Malibu," Joseph said, "and I didn't think someone in Malibu would marry this kind of man." Mariam also overheard Borat using Hebrew words (Borat's Kazakh is a mix of gibberish Hebrew and various Eastern European languages).

The producers did ask the Behars to bring food to Borat's room -- something not usually done for guests -- though they did not say what kind of food to bring.

The Scene: Borat has an etiquette lesson

Where: Birmingham, Ala.

Borat visits etiquette instructor Kathie Martin for advice on appropriate dinner party behavior. Most memorably, Borat regales Martin with Polaroids of his very, very naked, teenage son, which Martin, with preternatural poise, suggests he not show to his fellow dinner party attendees.

What happened: Martin was told by producers that a Kazakh documentarian would like to have a lesson before beginning his travels, so as not to embarrass himself. Martin saw the film on Saturday and told us she found that "certain parts were funny, certain parts were not." She told Newsweek, "I would've liked my 15 minutes of fame in this life to have been for something more worthwhile than an R-rated movie."

Her first meeting with Borat was canceled after the crew came to Martin's house and encountered technical difficulties -- but not before Martin had prepared a five-course meal for her guest.

As for the naked pictures, Martin, polite as always, remarked, "It helped that I was not wearing my glasses."

The Scene: Borat eats with a Southern dining society

Where: The dinner took place at the Magnolia Springs Manor in Helena, Ala. The Southern plantation home was built in 1875 and currently functions as an event hall.

Among many transgressions that night, Borat insults the wife of Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church pastor Cary Speaker; after remarking on how popular two of the women would be in Kazakhstan, Borat gestures at Speaker's wife and says, "not so much." Oh, he also brings a bag of his own excrement to the table after using the bathroom, mistakes a retired fellow diner for being retarded, and invites a "prostitute" over for company.

What happened: The Birmingham News reports that Borat's dining companions weren't that upset with how they appeared in the film. "All things considered, we got out of this pretty clean," said the retired Mike Jared.

"I don't think he made a fool of us," said Cindy Streit, the Birmingham etiquette coach who arranged the dinner.

Speaker, who abruptly left the party after the alleged prostitute arrived, says his attitude is "Hey, he fooled us; it's funny. Watching this, I'm sure it's funny [to some people]. It was just not funny that night."

He adds that his two college-age sons found his appearance "hysterical."

The Scene: Borat goes for humor lessons

Where: Although the film makes it appear as if Borat's humor lessons took place in New York, he visited with humor coach Pat Haggerty, who lives and works in Washington, D.C.

Haggerty instructs Borat to not make jokes about the "retard" brother Borat keeps in a cage, and that perhaps it's not the best idea to tell people about having sex with his mother-in-law. Borat also proves himself to be a quick study when it comes to the subtle timing of the "not" joke -- not!

What he said: Haggerty told the BBC News that about halfway through their session he realized "this guy can't be real." Aware that he was being made to play the straight man, Haggerty continued with the lesson because "they paid me my money and they deserve an hour of my time." According to the same story, the public speaking coach is hoping his appearance in the film will give his career a boost. "The only downside is if I appear to be a fool."

The Scene: Borat talks to the Veteran Feminists of America

Where: New York

Borat sits down with three members of the Veteran Feminists of America, informs them that women have smaller brains than men do, and inquires about "Baywatch." He also cajoles one to "listen, pussycat, smile a bit," without much luck.

What happened: Linda Stein, Grace Welch and Carole De Saram were told by producers that they would be appearing in a documentary to help women in Third World countries. Stein says she has mixed feelings about the incident. She finagled her way into an advance screening of the film and found some parts of the film funny, but thinks "the joke appeals more to men than women."

Welch, a yoga instructor, found the whole incident funny. "What he does, he does very well, so I don't feel anger," she told the British Observer. "I was inclined very much to laugh at the event." As a result of the encounter she did go see "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," thinking it was "Borat." "I had to soldier on to watch that," she said. "I don't usually go to those kinds of pictures."

Cohen's Borat act was thoroughly convincing. Though Stein threw him out of the interview twice, she readily admits that "at no point during the whole event, as angry as I may have gotten, did it ever occur to me this was a comedian acting." The producer was able to sweet-talk the women into speaking with Borat again after the first heave-ho (the second time around, Borat asked the women to take off their tops). "Please," Stein says the producer begged, "he's from a third-world country, help him. He doesn't know any better." The producer then admonished Borat in a stage whisper, "You can't talk to American women this way."

When Stein told Borat that women in America can do anything men can, be president, secretary of state ("Oh, like that chocolate lady?"Borat replied) or even a reporter, Borat argued, "No. I can lift a chair!" At which point he stood up and lifted a chair. Not to be outdone, Stein lifted a chair as well. "I can lift two chairs," Borat countered, lifting two chairs. Stein did the same. And she now takes exception to the omission of this scene from the film. "He didn't choose the segments that really make the point that women are equal and strong. He didn't make the point with sexism that perhaps he did with anti-Semitism and homophobia."

The Scene: Borat learns to drive

Where: Baltimore County, Md.

After deciding that he must travel cross-country to meet Pamela Anderson, Borat decides to take driving lessons. Patiently teaching the easily distracted Kazakh is Michael Psenicksa, a driving instructor with 32 years of experience and the owner of his own driving school. During the harrowing car ride, Psenicksa tells Borat that in America, women must give consent for "sexy time."

"That's good, huh?" says the instructor.

"That's not good for me," Borat replies.

What happened: In an interview with the Baltimore Sun, Psenicksa said his encounter with Borat began in May 2005, when he received a phone call from someone saying his production company was filming a documentary about foreigners learning how to drive. He realized he'd been the victim of a gag after he told his son-in-law about the experience, who said it sounded like a gag from "Da Ali G Show." When Psenicksa saw the show, he recognized his student.

While he thought the movie was funny, Psenicksa says he was upset that other drivers were put at risk during the prank. "I'm not happy about that to this day."

The Scene: Borat buys a car

The Scene: Gaithersburg, Md.

Borat arrives at a dealership looking to buy a vehicle for somewhere in the range of $600 to $650. Borat asks the salesman, the aptly named Jim Sell, for a "pussy magnet," at which point he's shown a Hummer.

After Borat learns that no such actual magnet exists, and that the Hummer is out of his price range, we appear to see Sell arrange for Borat to buy a used ice cream truck.

What happened: "I was approached by a man named Todd Lewis, who said he was a producer for a documentary," says Sell. "They wanted to film him negotiating with me over the price of a vehicle."

When Borat arrived, "they kept him away from most people in the dealership. I had no idea who he was. I just thought he didn't know anything about this country."

Sell knew something fishy was going on when Borat "gave me a pin and said it was a gift from his country. On one side was a flag, on the other side was a KKK sign."

"Luckily, I handled myself OK," says Sell. "I just feel bad I wasted three hours of my time for 150 bucks. And I had nothing to do with selling him an ice cream truck."

The Scene: Borat appears on a small Southern ABC affiliate

Where: Jackson, Miss.

Borat wreaks havoc at Jackson's WAPT, standing up every time he spoke, forcing the camera crew to scramble to avoid waist-level shots; offering up his sister to the silver-haired newscaster conducting the interview; interrupting the weatherman during a report by wandering on to the set.

What happened: A story in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger quotes station general manager Stuart Kellogg as saying, "We were gotten. Our folks researched the production company, which has its own Web site and sounds legitimate. They did their homework, but not well enough. It seemed plausible that he was who he said he was," Kellogg said. "Who knows what an accent from Kazakhstan sounds like?"

The story also reports that Borat's visit led the station to upgrading its policy on researching guests and on building security.

Another story reports that Dharma Arthur, the woman responsible for booking Borat on the show, says she lost her livelihood because of the incident. "I spiraled into depression, and before I could recover, I was released from my contract early. It took me three months to find another job, and now I'm thousands of dollars in debt and struggling to keep my house out of foreclosure. The upsetting thing is that a man who leaves so much harm in his path is lauded as a comic genius."

The Scene: Borat meets a prostitute

Where: Helena, Ala.

Borat invites Luenell, a prostitute whose number he found in the back of a newspaper, to the Magnolia Mansion Dining Society, whose members promptly ask them to leave. Borat and Luenell go on to enjoy a night of mechanical bull riding at a local bar. Later, after Borat concludes that things aren't going to work out with Pamela Anderson, he realizes Luenell is the woman for him, marries her, and takes her back to Kazakhstan, where she feeds his whole town with her breast milk.

What happened: Sadly, Luenell Campbell is not a Borat-style "Pretty Woman" but a 37-year-old comedian and actress who has appeared in "So I Married an Axe Murderer" and "The Rock," and is currently on a comedy tour. She's coy about her participation in the film, telling MTV, "I can't tell you about any of the inner workings. I'm sworn to secrecy ... Borat and I go back a long way. We knew each other in Kazakhstan."

The Scene: Borat wrecks an antique store

Where: Adolph Rose Antiques in Vicksburg, Miss.

After being convinced that the shop owners are not trying to trick him by selling "old things," Borat destroys a good chunk of the store's merchandise via a series of pratfalls. Borat's offer to help pay for the broken antiques with a bag of pubic hair is, unsurprisingly, turned down.

What happened: Store owner Larry Walker tells us that he was called out of the blue by a producer asking permission to come to his store, in order to film "a Belarussian documentary about life in the South."

"I had a funny feeling at first," Walker continues. "But some woman called and seemed nice and convincing, and she sent me stuff on some official-looking letterhead. Then when Borat came, all hell broke loose."

Walker, who found that he'd been duped only after a friend saw Borat on the "Today" show, estimates that $500 worth of merchandise was broken during the filming, which lasted about three hours. Still, he says he harbors no ill-will about being featured in the film (the damaged antiques were all paid for, even though the film implies otherwise). "It's a very funny movie. You have to laugh at it now. But at the time, we were just glad to get rid of him."

The Scene: Borat takes a road trip with three frat boys

Where: The film implies that it takes place on a stretch in the Southwest. In fact, it was in South Carolina.

Borat gets picked up on the side of the road by three members of the Chi Psi fraternity. David, Justin and Anthony fulfill just about every frat-boy stereotype possible, saying they wished they had slaves, explaining that minorities have all the power, disabusing Borat of the notion that Pamela Anderson is a virgin, and devolving into general drunken boorishness.

What happened: The University of South Carolina chapter of Chi Psi has been expectedly tight-lipped about the incident, which doesn't portray the boys in a particularly positive light. Chapter president Todd Bailey told a Web site that he's not eager to see the film:

"Personally, I have no desire to see it, but I have to be aware of what's in the movie."

David Corcoran, the most outspoken of the three, spoke with FHM about the experience. "This guy said they were filming a Kazakh reporter who wanted to hang out with frat guys," Corcoran said. "They met 10 of us and I guess chose the three who wouldn't recognize Borat." The producers paid for the three men to drink at a bar, and then had them get in the RV and "pick Borat up ... as if he was hitchhiking." Once in the RV, he says, Borat showed them naked pictures of his sister and confessed to beating women.

Two of the guys -- identified in court filings only as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 -- are now suing 20th Century Fox and One America Productions, the production company behind the film. The suit claims all three were told at the time that the film wouldn't show in the U.S. and their identities would be kept secret. They're seeking unspecified damages for "humiliation, mental anguish, and emotional and physical distress, loss of reputation, goodwill and standing in the community."

The Scene: Borat tries to kidnap Pamela Anderson

Where: Los Angeles

A lovelorn Borat finally meets the object of his desire at a Virgin Megastore and attempts to kidnap her by throwing a bag over her head.

After she escapes, he then chases the barefoot Anderson into the parking lot, where he is thrown to the ground by two security guards.

What happened: Anderson tells MTV that she has been sworn to secrecy about her involvement with the project, but says, "I love Sacha. He's such a nice guy ... He's the new Monty Python."

Despite her silence, it seems more than likely that Anderson was in on the joke. In August 2005, when the film was still shooting, there were suspicious reports of a Malibu beach commitment ceremony between Anderson's two dogs that was interrupted by Borat, who "emerged from the surf astride an inflatable turtle." Borat, the story claimed, "sprinted toward Anderson and felled her with a perfectly executed rugby tackle ... [she] struggled to her feet and brushed sand off of her long white gown as her loyal bodyguards seized the interloper, dragged him back to the shore, and dunked him in the hungry waves."

That sounds like an alternative ending that might have just been too implausible to make the final cut. But we're sure it'll wind up in the DVD.

-- By David Marchese and Willa Paskin

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http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2006/11/10/guide_to_borat/

I always enjoyed Ali G, and the Borat skits. I haven't seen the movie, but I think considering items like this, the backlash shouldn't be too long in coming.

Borat is a derivative boorish combination of the ambush humor of Tom Green, Jackass, and Punked. We've seen it all before, and it wasn't funny then. The sheen of social commentary doesn't save the movie from its sheer tedium.

That being said, I can totally see how this plays well with the 12 to 18 year old male demographic.

I loved the movie, and i think the social critique is excellent, much better than ham-handed message movies like Crash and so on. First of all, remember that Cohen is a Brit who works mainly in Britain. The issue of culture clash between a "backwards" east and "sophisticated" west is a frontburner and risky issue. In that sense, Borat is not so much about a man from a central asian country suddenly immersed in the US, so much as a play on the daily mishaps of European integration - the eastern european (Tierney had it right when he mentions the faux travel guide "Molvania" (Moldova + Albania) in a western european environment, and the west european faced an influx of strangers who look like them but grew up in a very different culture.

Second, Borat brings up serious issues that you never see addressed in movies. Anti-semitism (in the present, not WWII), bride kidnapping, child brides - these are issues that are never addressed in the movies. By training the eye of ridicule on both the eastern and western individuals who actively or tacitly are part of the problem, Cohen is using laughter to establish (or reinforce) norms. Anti-semitism is not dead, and it is not acceptable. Misogynist practices have no place in a sophisticated society. In the US, so geographically far from the countries where these issues are alive and extreme, its easier to see the joke as being on the americans for having retrograde beliefs. But there is a message being sent both ways - through humor and yes, ridicule, the message is being sent that these things are not acceptable anywhere.

About the exploitative aspect of the film's technique, I could be wrong but I don't believe any of the anti-semitic language was used in the presence of the sweet old couple. And they indeed are portrayed as wonderful people... so wonderful that you can see how completely irrational Borat's antisemitism is. The message is unescapable -no one in their right mind could dislike that couple - so Borat's antisemitism is not only irrational, its ridiculous.

And I for one appreciated the nudity. I am so tired of female nudity being commonplace in films, but male nudity, oh no, we mustn't upset the male sensibility. As physical comedy and as a celebration of the sheer absurdity of the human form, that chase sequence in the hotel was fantastic.

In general, people who are nice come off as nice in the film. People who are asses come off as asses. I could give examples but i doubt anyone is still reading this as I've gone on way too long. I'll sum up by saying I haven't laughed so hard in a long time - and I felt good about it.

Doesn't anyone remember laughter?

If the Borat guy was American, not English, the film would be viewed as an East Coast Ivy League elitist putdown of the American working class.

But, as is so often the case, you can get away with anything if you have a British accent.

I only like mockery if you include your own among those being mocked. Sasha Cohen doesn't do that. All the great comedians do.

The image of Borat being rescued by Bertie Wooster is funnier than anything in the movie. If only someone had caught a film of it.

I found the movie really funny, but still not quite all that I was hoping for. I also happened to see the movie with a non-American, who felt that the U.S. absolutely did not come across as boorish and xenophobic. Her main reaction was how shockingly nice and polite Americans are in the face of ludicrously boorish behavior. So that's another vote for the movie being best viewed as fish-out-of-water slapstick rather than cultural criticism.

My 25 yo son saw it, and was grossed out by it.

The one thing I have become certain of in life is that if my son finds something gross, then I do not, DO NOT, want to see it.

Wow, what a bunch of fuddy duddies.

oh for fuck's sake disputo, lighten up.

So what Kevin is saying is that the movie didn't prove that people are racists like the liberals assume everyone on is?

Brilliant.

The common hollywood formula: Make a "reality" comedy about a fake man with a fake accent putting himself in fake situations.

Sounds like John Stewart type comedy.

Lighten up regarding lying to and exploiting others for one's own personal profit?

Sure, man, why not? You convinced me with your detailed rational argument.

I haven't seen Borat and never intended to despite the critical paroxysms.

I had a similar reaction to Roger & Me. Moore wasn't content with going after Roger Smith, he also smirked at regular people trying to get by.

My first thought is that you'll won't see the people who didn't play along.

I was uncomfortable with the movie's premise -- people didn't fully understand they were being used as part of a gag (the TV host, the dinner guests, the mortgage brokers at the convention, a terrorized Pamela Anderson). Borat turned them into objects of ridicule, just like the people in those fake interviews on the Daily Show. Maybe Borat's prostitute guest didn't want to be used to crack the thin veneer of his dinner host's sense of decorum.

But parts of Borat were pretty funny -- seeing former Rep. Bob Barr's expression change eating the cheese after Borat told him the milk came from his wife's tits was great. Couldn't happen to a better guy.

The thing about Sasha Cohen is that all his humor is based on pretty much the same gimmick. But gimmicks have a pretty short shelf life.

I do wonder what's going to happen to him once he has to start doing new material.

'I do wonder what's going to happen to him once he has to start doing new material'

He has already signed a USD 45 million movie deal featuring Bruno.

Really, I think my fingers are smarter than my brain is when it comes to comedy.

I remember thinking to myself when I saw an episode of Da Ali G show that it was pretty damn funny.

But, after that, whenever I would be surfing on cable for something to watch, and would encounter another episode of Da Ali G, my fingers would click on past.

My fingers seemed to know something I'd never figured out: that the humor was tedious after a while, and I didn't really want any more.

"if you act like a complete whack job you can get ordinary people flustered and flummoxed."

You just described Karl Rove's so-called "genius". Just act in a way that no decent, normal person would and decent, normal people won't believe that's what you are doing. Of course, people do catch on after a while.

I think that Borat wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so overly hyped by the hipsters. People think Borat is funny because of the inherent xenophobia in American culture --- it works on the same premise as blackface minstrels and ethnic stereotyping.

It was really bad- made me realize again how listening to reviews guarantees disappointment. Also, a lot of people are suing him- he seems to have done a pretty good job of jerking people around.

J.S.

I'm with you, Kevin. A few funny scenes (e.g. the rodeo) and the rest was inane. Also, far too much footage of fat, nude men. A few nanoseconds would have been plenty, thank you.

Acting like an asshole to gets reaction out of the rubes' so the elite can snicker isn't piercing social commentary. It's just a one-trick pony that get tired quickly.

Sasha Cohen may want to rent "Freddy Got Fingered," Tom Green's immortally bad movie, to see what the future holds.

Also, far too much footage of fat, nude men.

I've heard women cheer that finally nude men are being shown in a movie, but can anyone -- either straight women or gay men -- honestly say that there was anything sexy about that scene?

Haven't seen the movie, but in the ads this individual is what we used to call 'icky'.

"the lesson was that if you act like a complete whack job you can get ordinary people flustered and flummoxed."

Perhaps that explains the reaction of the dinner party hosts (though not completely). But it sure as hell doesn't explain the frat boys or the rodeo guy.

Just came back from seeing it. Funny, sometimes really laugh-out-loud funny, but overall not "the funniest movie ever" as some would have it. It's true that the people don't realize they're being goofed on, but most of them come across as simply far more polite than this nutball deserved. That hardly makes them rubes or idiots. And the people who say truly horrible things, deserve to be ridiculed. It's not like they didn't know there was a camera in their face; they obviously thought that what they were saying was A-OK.

I am a comedy aficionado supreme.

I love Ali G. Bruno is a riot.

Borat is sometimes funny, often uncomfortable.

I really am not sure I could take an hour and a half of him.

But it sure as hell doesn't explain the frat boys or the rodeo guy.

The frat boys claimed that they were plied with liquor and encouraged to act like racist assholes. IOW, although they were lied to about many aspects of the film, they did indeed know that they were "acting", and are pretty pissed that their acting is being portrayed as reality. And one of them was under 21 when the producers bought them alcohol, and they all signed their releases under the influence. And, naturally, they are suing. If the facts bear out, they should win.

OTOH, the rodeo guy was totally for real.

I think its appeal is simply that its premise is that Americans aren't the biggest hayseeds in the universe.

You are right on the money regarding Borat, arguably, the worst film I have ever seen. I'm not offended because it is horrible... often really bad films can become classics because they aspire to such a uniquely low level of mediocrity(to wit, Ed Wood films or "The Excorcist II). Borat is a series of bad Conan O'Brien late night skits strung back to back. Even that would be OK if the movie weren't so mean spirited. He shits on everything, metaphorically and in reality...Cohen's passion for scatology bears further reflection. It is bathroom humor on steroids,,,little kids like that stuff(see "South Par, Eddie Murphy, etc.), but the depraved manipulation of quasi-pornographic sexual images was disturbing because a quarter of my audience was below 16. Anti Semitism, Anti-Feminism, Racism, animal abuse....any target that he desperately uses for a cheap laugh...make this a very uncomfortable film to watch(I walked at the 65 minute mark). But, you know the biggest sin.....it wasn't funny. I'll put up with most anything if it genuinely makes me laugh. Borat did not.
The most disturbing aspect of this whole "artistic" charade is that it is #1 at the Box Office two weeks running. A classic case of the Emperor has no clothes. Everyone knows they had a lousy time, but it would be unfashionable to say so. The word, therefore, is passed that this is a very hip movie, boldly examing taboo themes, and Cohen himself is the new Peter Sellers(gag me with a spoon). We are in a degenerate time because of the corrupted leadership in Washington and our cherished American Film Artform reflects it. Think Rome in the final throes. I'm sure the fartmeister, Bush, loved it. As for me, bring back the days of Jackie Kennedy.
Jeff Rollins
Valencia, CA

Borat is full-immersion satire. It's a wonderful, beautiful comedic creation. Seriously.

Satire is the toughest comedy sell and not everyone is going to get it. That's not elitest posing, that's just how it is. If a person found the movie rude and was offended on a meta level (that is, not so much offended by the content of the movie but rather by the fact that it was Cohen "tricking" people) then they simply don't get it. It's no big deal, no need to pull out the "Oooooh, I'm so oppressed because hipsters will tell me I'm uncool if I don't like the movie!" theatrics, you just don't get it.

And there's a huge range of what constitutes satire so it's not like Borat is the end all be all- Borat is particularly brutal. I thought it was incredible, just a fantastic experience. The guy has balls of steel and has seriously accomplished something comedically great. Plus I laughed so hard at the naked fight scene I thought I was going to seriously injure myself.

Disputo sayas: "I've heard women cheer that finally nude men are being shown in a movie, but can anyone -- either straight women or gay men -- honestly say that there was anything sexy about that scene?"

Well, I'm a gay man, and I'm even a gay man who likes big, hairy men, and the answer is: NOTHING SEXY AT ALL about that scene!!!

But it wasn't meant to be sexy, of course. It was meant to be hilarious, and it was (to me and my partner and the rest of the audience, anyway).

I suspect that the women "cheering" at the presence of nude men in a movie are just honestly grateful for some balance: when it comes to nudity in H'wood films, it's something like 99 percent nekkid women and 1 percent nekkid men, whether the nudity is presented for sexiness or humor or vulnerability or whatever the context and emotional punch happens to be.

Didn't see it. Looks like a lame movie that people who try to portray themselves as hip and cool will say how great it is. Happens all the time with so-so movies. That said, my philosphy is most defintely 'to each his own'.

Hi Hawkie!

step 1: make a funny movie nobody is expecting

step 2: critics rave

step 3: movie becomes popular

step 4: hipsters overanalyze and poo-poo it because they are cooler than everyone else.

"I had a similar reaction to Roger & Me. Moore wasn't content with going after Roger Smith, he also smirked at regular people trying to get by."

I've heard that so often and it is the biggest load of bullshit in the world. I get the feeling the sort of people who get angry at Michael Moore for showing really poor people doing their thing or Borat bringing the worst out of someone are just generally uncomfortable with reality and prefer to pretend any honest depction of the worst or worst-off among us is exploitation, and therefore dismissable. The woman selling rabbits for pets or meat? Dirt poor, poorly educated, and having to sell rabbits for pets or meat to get by. Pretty sad, isn't it? But you'd prefer "poor" being a word in the dictionary rather than a real person, wouldn't you?

It's a lot easier and cleaner and much more satisfying to not see awful things like that and some people get angry when they're confronted with them. How dare Moore show actual poor people living their actual pathetic, sad lives? How dare Borat show some actual Americans being pretty freaking creepy? Give me a break. Grow up.

"Didn't see it. Looks like a lame movie that people who try to portray themselves as hip and cool will say how great it is. Happens all the time with so-so movies. That said, my philosphy is most defintely 'to each his own'."

Wow. You really added to the conversation. On behalf of the cosmos- thank you.

I love it when elitist posers claim they are not elitist posers right before they pose elitistly.

Now THAT is funny!

6:49pm is fake Jeffrey.

I'm with you. Each of the vignettes had 10-20 hysterical seconds, but the rest was tedious, slow, irritating, predictable, forced, or otherwise unpleasant.

This has the interesting side effect of making the movie better 2 hours after watching it than when sitting in the theatre. All the chaff fades into history, leaving just the entertaining wheat kernels to chew on. (have I mangled the metaphor sufficiently?)

"One-trick pony" -- yup.

Danny Ayckroyd and Steve Martin much better as those two "wild and crazy guys." Would never have made a whole movie, though.

Ali G is more pointed, so funnier. I laughed when he spoofed Andy Rooney.

The Tim,

Kevin asked for opinions and I gave mine.

Quit whining.

well Ralphy, he asked for the opinions of those how actually saw it, and you admit that you didn't see it before launching into your ignorant rant.

I did see it yesterday, and thought it was hilarious from beginning to end--especially compared to most other so-called comedies.
Don't care about the "social commentary" or any "lessons" it might be trying to teach us, just thought it was totally funny. Too bad there isn't an Academy Award for nude wrestling scenes in a faux documentary.

The only thing that disappoints me is the number of my fellow liberals who appear to be humorless twats. It's okay to laugh. Why does everyone have to go looking for a political slant(right or left), instead of just enjoying good comedy?

Hi haha,

I wasn't ranting. Tis true I didn't see it.

Looks stupid. That's my opinion, you don't have

to agree. That's what makes this a great country!

Does it bother you that a movie you like looks

assinine and I said so?

step 4: hipsters overanalyze and poo-poo it because they are cooler than everyone else.

It'd be nice if Kevin let us all know his five favorite funniest movies. Then we'd know what he had up his ass.

You're dead on. The whole Borat shtick sucks - the laughs come from embarrassment more than anything else. Painful to watch.

And no wonder the Kazakhs hate him. The key to self-deprecating humor is that you have to be a member of the group you're deprecating.

Perhaps we can have a sequel, wherein a crude, racist, loudmouthed American goes on a tour of Europe. He'll be played by a European. Yeah, hilarious.

Kevin, I was totally grossed out by it myself. The NY Times review took me to the movie and boy it was awful. Stupid and sick. Give me the PG Wodehouse brand any day..clean fun that builds to a hysterical climax of the absurd with that elusive thing called humor. I know nobody here proably knows what I'm talking about when I mention Wodehouse, but there is such a thing as humor without the need for it to be all about sex, and sick sex and more of the same with offense. No, it was NOT funny. It was STUPID.

The only thing that disappoints me is the number of my fellow liberals who appear to be humorless twats.

The only thing that disappoints me is the number of my fellow liberals who use terms for female body parts as pejoratives.

I now understand why you found Borat funny.

I haven't seen Borat and probably won't. I can say I'm annoyed by this sort of "attack humor". The Daily Show does a lot of it. It never makes me laugh. It just makes me uncomfortable and embarrassed.

I'll take Christopher Guest's "mockumentary" films, like "Spinal Tap" or "A Mighty Wind", any day.

Kinda funny, but completely obnoxious. Once again, a good 5-10 minute skit gets ruined by overstaying its welcome.

I blame Lorne Michaels.

the laughs come from embarrassment more than anything else.

Yo, shithead: that's where all the best comedy comes from, unless you're Dane Cook and "funny" means "giving the fans what they want."

The only thing that disappoints me is the number of my fellow liberals who use terms for female body parts as pejoratives.

Don't be a cunt.

He's a smarmy Jew pig.

LOL! I hear his mom makes a great pork roast.

Perhaps we can have a sequel, wherein a crude, racist, loudmouthed American goes on a tour of Europe. He'll be played by a European.

I think Monty Python already covered this, you slimy clit.

Danny Ayckroyd and Steve Martin much better as those two "wild and crazy guys."

Oh yeah, that's comedy gold. Nobody could read cue cards better than that genius of improvisational comedy, "Danny Ayckroyd."

i think the social critique is excellent, much better than ham-handed message movies like Crash and so on.

Crash was the best movie EVER!!!!

I loved it. And so did that "poor little Jewish couple" that Borat "took advantage" of. (See: Salon article.)

The funniest overall was how politely robotic everyone was towards Borat. Especially the people trying to sell him stuff. But you could see the wheels squeaking in their heads: must...remain...politically...correct!

I found myself wondering what I would have done in the same situation.

As to other folks making asses of themselves, well, it just proves that if you give some people enough rope that they will hang themselves.

I didn't think Borat was mean-spirited at all. In fact, I think Cohen is pretty damn brave. That rodeo scene was awesome.

I'll take Christopher Guest's "mockumentary" films, like "Spinal Tap" or "A Mighty Wind", any day.

---

So it's funny as long as the mocking is completely fake? Fake actors, fake scenarios, etc?

I heartily disagree. Much funnier if the satirical mocking involves real people and situations. It's uncomfortable for some folks. I get that. But hey, look at Richard Pryor's standup career. Pretty damn uncomfortable subject matter. But I guess you'd prefer to see him in his movie roles, safely apeing out mild jokes about race in America.

I cannot believe how many posters are turning up their collective comedy noses at Borat. Come. On. It's not that I don't also enjoy Wodehouse, but comedy must move forward and break down barriers. And to compare Borat with the likes of Tom Green or Alan Funt? Ridiculous.

Another comedian whose standup makes people uncomfortable is George Carlin. I'm thinking of his most recent teevee special where he goes on and on about death, suicide, etc. Ouch. But it needs to be said.

Borat needed to be made. Satirizing a well-intentioned idiot that gets treated with kid gloves (for the most part) by overly polite people. And why are they so polite? Because they are afraid.

I read this morning in the Guardian how the villagers in Rumania were paid 3 pounds each in exchange for being totally humiliated. They had no idea what was going on, only that they were made a lot of promises, and got a lot of manure in return. Humilating a one-armed guy with a sex toy is beyond bad taste -- it's a disgrace. Yuck.

Does it bother you that a movie you like looks
assinine and I said so?

no, I'm just saying that you're an ass for passing judgment on something you haven't seen.

The only thing that disappoints me is the number of my fellow liberals who use terms for female body parts as pejoratives.

don't ever visit England.
But if it makes you feel better, you're a dick.

LMAO @ the guy who compares Borat to standup comedy giants, and yet denies it is comparable to Tom Green's ambush schtick.

Now *that* is funny.

Defrauding and exploiting impoverished people for your own personal gain, however, isn't funny -- unless you're a Republican.

Come to think of it, Sacha Baron Cohen's work may have more in common with Jack Abramof than it does with Tom Green.

Oh bloody hell. The point was that when many ordinary people get flustered and flummoxed they drop their “mask” and reveal the bigotry underneath.

As for the “politeness” argument, the point was that it is contemptible when one politely ignores others bigotry. Those people are enablers who by not directly challenging the bigotry they encounter help to perpetuate it.

People in the film were given some rope; some enthusiastically made a nose out of it and placed it over their own necks. Others didn’t. Those that didn’t, like the driving instructor, come of very well.

As for Borat being the funniest ever…. eh probably not. But it sure beats the steady stream of Brat Pack/Ben Stiller/Will Ferrell “comedies” we have had to endure year after year.

This may reveal me as a true unhip dofus, but I actually LIKED "Freddy Got Fingered". Maybe it was the relationship between him and his father-Rip Torn was fabulous, as he is in everything he does.
I've seen that look on my own dad's face so many times....priceless!

After reading the article about Glod I can say with confidence that I will never go see this movie. I hope the poor people of this village become filthy rich at Sacha Baron Cohen's expense.

It's what made the Ali G show and the Daily Show and the Colbert Report so intriguing and hilarious (though most folks are in on the joke now).

NO. IT IS NOT.

Stephen Colbert did his "I offended the Asians bit" for instance. Now imagine Borat was a marginally anglophonic Chinese man moving through Red America and tell me if the movie is still funny.

Stephen Colbert did his "I offended the Asians bit" for instance. Now imagine Borat was a marginally anglophonic Chinese man moving through Red America and tell me if the movie is still funny.

Probably, if it was done with Cohen's skill.

from my POV, it stinks - typical Brit humour in fact, the joys of sadism

>>I know nobody here proably knows what I'm talking about when I mention Wodehouse,

Woo-hoo! are you ever wrong. I have essentially every one of The Master's works which can be published here, there are some convoluted copyright issues apparently, and a few sent to me years ago by a friend working in London.

'The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the right or wrong end of the gun.'
- P. G. Wodehouse

Long live Plum.

I have zero interest in seeing Borat. I think Sash Cohen's a derivative boor. And bore, too.

"Apparently some passerby on the streets of NY didn't find find his shtick funny either and beat up Sasha Cohen the other night (Cohen was rescued by Hugh Laurie)."

I can just imagine Dr. House administering to Borat. I'd guess Borat would find he'd met his match.

Glad to see here I'm not the only one who doesn't get this guy. What would have happened if Harry Smith had punched him after Borat threw him to the floor?

Pat, Bill or whatever your name is, take your shit somewhere else... it is odious..

Haven't seen Borat but will. Apparently that make me a wannabe hipster?

Sacha Baron Cohen is here in Sydney, promoting Borat. For an alleged 'comic genius' & anarchic ambush-wit the contractual protocols for his press conference were...surprisingly Streisand-ish & deeply unfunny. All journalists attending & all proposed questions had to be submitted & approved in advance! Honestly. Diva-late, irony-lite, Cohen formulaically answered 'approved' questions, from 'approved' journalists, theoretically remaining. "in character". In fact he read each reply, word-for-word from a very large tele-prompter.

The Oz press were, unsurprisingly, underwhelmed.

The Sydney Morning Herald commented: "(Cohen's) media kit boasts that during filming Baron Cohen stayed in character for an interrogation by the US Secret Service, who suspected him of being a terrorist. Surprising then that he didn't think he could hold his own in front of a bunch of respectful entertainment reporters."

Whatever his insecurities are as an interviewee, my problem with Baron Cohen, particularly as Borat, lies in his humour's thinly-veiled subtext. What he's 'satirizing' & what people are laughing at, is an ethnic bumpkin stereotype. It's disturbingly similar & comparably vicious to the anti-Semitic/anti-Gypsy cabaret 'humour' of late Weimar, early Nazi Germany. It's saying: " aren't these nowheresville ethnic people like sooooo gross, so old fashioned, so embarassing? And their English(German) as 2nd language is soooo lame! Isn't it great how we sophisticates know how like totally wrong it is to be like, you know, sexist, or anti-semitic or racist. Oh my God... it's like people who come from anywhere called 'something'-stan should be totally ethnically cleansed. Like literally."

It isn't satire. It's cheap-shot ethnic vilification. By 'exposing' Borat as a bigot, we're cynically distracted from the bigotry that informs our amusement. While a lot of English humour (Office, Human Remains, Little Britain etc.,) comes from scary, embarassing, uncomfortable places, Cohen's humour isn't part of that ignoble tradition. His humour doesn't encourage audiences to see & cringe & laugh at themselves.

His humour encourages us to laugh at badly dressed foreigners who dare to think they're as good as us.

Quite frankly I'll take the macho-satirizing gonzo-masochism of Jackass 2 anyday, over Cohen's smug, sleight-of-hand xenophobia.

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Thank you so much for not liking this idiot.

All journalists attending & all proposed questions had to be submitted & approved in advance! Honestly. Diva-late, irony-lite, Cohen formulaically answered 'approved' questions, from 'approved' journalists, theoretically remaining. "in character". In fact he read each reply, word-for-word from a very large tele-prompter.

Wow. Some people just don't get it. Quick: Who does this remind you of. REMIND you of? Clock's ticking. Figured it out yet? Do you have to be spoon-fed everything or do you just naturally not understand humor unless its explained to you?

Man. Borat seems lame and mean, give me Mitch Hedberg anyday.

I wasn't comparing Cohen to the "comedy greats." I was only comparing people's reactions to uncomfortable subject matter. And for your information, I'm a twat, not a dick.

I think the real issue at hand is that y'all seem to think it's OK when politicians or celebrities are punk'd, but NOT OK when regularly people are punk'd. Then they're being "taken advantage of." I think there is a great underlying fear that you, an ordinary person, might get embarrassed in the same way. That's just too much to bear. So therefore you hate the format and find it unfunny.

Besides, every person in that film signed waivers and agreements and received monetary payment. You can hardly call it getting punk'd when you sign a piece of paper allowing the cameras to roll.

And on a personal note, how many posters work with the public and have to fake smile and nod when the person you're helping is completely clueless? Happened to me yesterday.

A student approached me asking for help in locating statistics on affirmative action. "What kind of statistics?" I asked. "Statistics on how many people died before and after affirmative action." Ooookay. I instantly thought of Borat.

So maybe my love for the film is not so much the actions of the characters, but the overall premise of how regular folks deal with people who are clueless. That's pretty much my job.

By 'exposing' Borat as a bigot, we're cynically distracted from the bigotry that informs our amusement.

Fuck off and spare us your dipshit armchair shrinkery.

The more I see and hear of this, the less I want to see it... if I ever really did. The capper was getting a phone call from a friend, specifically telling me that it's so funny, that I have to see it. I almost invariably have the opposite opinion of movies that this friend has. (Thanx for the tip, Lenny!)

I'm with you, Kevin. It had some good points, and I'm glad I saw it--but I don't think I'd see it again, ever. It was kind of funny, but nothing particularly sublime.

>>>... Copyright (c)2006 Salon Media Group, Inc. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. SALON(r) is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon Media Group Inc.

http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2006/11/10/guide_to_borat/

Posted by: Thin White Guy

Yeah, you think Thin White Guy and Washington Monthly are vilating any kind of copyright here? Quit being thieves and jerks (TWG)

Regarding the "buzz" of this movie, I feel like I'm in middle school again, when certain select "cool" people were in on some joke or trend (regardless of how stupid the joke or trend was). They are cool because they "get the joke." At some point, more people start to "get the joke" and eventually, the number of people who "get the joke" hits a critical mass and it is no longer cool to "get the joke." The whole appeal of the original "joke" was being a part of the cool subclass who got it, and snickering at the oblivious boobs who did not "get it." Once the critical mass is hit, the hipsters find a new thing to be "cool" and the oblivious ones keep loving the "joke" because they think it makes them "cool." (even though they are about 5 steps behind the "truly cool."). Regardless, at some point, once the appeal of being "in on the joke" wears off, the merit of the original "joke" can be truly judged. Sometimes the "joke" is really original and deserving of praise, other times the "joke" is nothing more than a lame rip off of Andy Kaufman.

Hi haha,

Are you suffering from rectal cranial inversion?

I said it looks stupid because it does. I think that bothers you because you like it.

Quit whining good sir.

I did not like it very much. It was so thin and spiritless. There were a few funny moments. Obviously, it was made by someone with no sense of American geography. I really didn't like the mean-spirited parts--especially when they were in that Romanian village.

"I know nobody here proably knows what I'm talking about when I mention Wodehouse."

Who is this Wodehouse I hear so much about?

I'm a Jew from the south and I saw the movie with my girlfriend, who is black. We both loved it. I can understand how straight white people could feel so uncomfortable with the film. The joke is on them, with a knowing wink to all the gays, blacks, Jews, and assorted minority members of the audience. It resonates so strongly with us because the people he mocks are people we recognize from our day-to-day lives, whose tacit bigotry we have no choice but to ignore, and here they are getting their come-uppance in a revealing, humiliating manner. I know it's no fun being laughed at, so you don't get what makes this movie so ground-breaking and subversive, try to stop watching it from a dominant white perspective.

Regarding the "buzz" of this movie, I feel like I'm in middle school again

Uh, freak, it's the "cool people" who are patting themselves on the back now about how the movie "isn't all that."

If you think that placing Andy Kaufman on a pedastal and pissing on Borat makes you "cool," then you are truly deluded. What you a really are is a consumer of Hollywood product. Now, run along and play your REM CD again.

Here's Borat's take on Sean Hannity. It's mean comedy.
http://hannity.cf.huffingtonpost.com

Measured purely in volume and number of laughs per minute, this was by far the "funniest" movie I've ever seen.

I can see how people who haven't seen Da Ali G Show can think Cohen is meanspirited. Borat is his "meanest" character. Ali G mocks politicians and higher-ups, Bruno mocks the shallow fashion industry-- you would feel much less bad about laughing at them, I bet. My point, I guess, is that Cohen makes fun of everyone.

"Cohen makes fun of everyone" -- except the most ridiculous people getting away with murder, the weirdos who support Israeli extremism.

Let him go after them.

I'm with Drum. It stank. I wasn't expecting to like it but it was far worse than I expected.

Jackass for urban "sophisticates".

Message? "Ooh, how much like the stupid Kazakhs the stupid American rednecks are." Gee, how profound.

Question: how many rolls of film did they end up throwing away when their redneck subjects DIDN'T act the racist, homophobic fool? Anyone know?

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"I know nobody here proably knows what I'm talking about when I mention Wodehouse."

Who is this Wodehouse I hear so much about?
Posted by: Bertie W

At the Drones Club, no doubt.

Where the question would be correctly posed: 'Who is this Wodehouse cove of whom one hears so much?'

I loved the film when I saw it, but now that I'm reading about how they filmed it and the trail of ruin left behind them, I think I'd probably beat the crap out of Cohen if I saw him on the street.

" I think I'd probably beat the crap out of Cohen if I saw him on the street."

Wow, you are a pathetic loser and apparently not ashamed to demonstrate that fact to everybody.

Here's a bet: you'll never see Cohen on your street but if you do you won't lift a finger against the man.

Now please go back under your rock.

jonny

Juvenile, and disrespectful.

I'm glad the hype is getting punctured... I went with high expectations, and was pretty disappointed.

This guy Borat is working against everything the world has been trying to put behind them....namely equality, unity and understanding of each other. Yes, he has the right of free speech, but not at the expense of others. The fact that it is done many times to an unsuspecting person or issue compounds the matter. He needs to be stopped from this immature Hoax