131 of 1001 Movies: Borat (2006)

Who are we really laughing at in this movie? Borat was pretty much a comedic success in 2006 with audiences and critics receiving it well. I couldn't help but wondering if the joke was on the audience the entire time of watching this movie though. The heart of the movie is mean-spirited, so it isn't that we are laughing with the makers of the movies, but more so it's like a bully picking on you, and then trying to laugh with the bully about being picked on as he continues to assault you. I don't think the intent of this movie was to have a light laugh at the expense of others though. There is a lot of political and religious undertones that seems like just a heyday for the makers who are all on the same page to laugh at the same thing.

Kazakh TV reporter, Borat, is sent to the United States to report on the United States, and also bring back some tips from the culture in order to help his own struggling country. A documentary crew follows him as he travels from New York to California on a road trip, and sets up multiple interviews along the way with people who are supposedly unknowing that this is a mockumentary. Borat encounters a distraction to his goal though when he falls for Pamela Anderson after seeing her in Baywatch, and sets his sights instead on locating and marrying her.


As you can imagine, when people don't know what is truly being filmed when you film them, you set yourself up for a huge lawsuit(s). Of course, the creators of the movie argued it was necessary for them to not be knowledgeable in order to get the reactions that they did...such as the politician who believed he was eating cheese made from breast milk. You would think just simply setting people up to interact with a weird guy would be basis enough for a funny movie, but instead the movie turns into something else that looks more like an analysis of the hate that is still alive in America, and that just is more embarrassing than funny.

There are also two types of people. Those who believe that anything can be made the subject of a joke, and others who think some things have no way to be made humorous...such as an impoverished country. The way that we begin at this spot will tell you a lot from the get go whether it is your type of movie a lot. Also, the movie does rely a lot on genitals, sex, and the like to be funny. For some reason I just don't think most females find that funny, and penises look more like damaged appendages than funny objects to a woman. No surprise though, the director has a history in directing comedy shows here and there, but Borat was really his first big movie.

Borat isn't a disaster though. It's intriguing, and there are some funny moments. Like when Borat visits Atlanta. I will say they had it wrongly dotted on the Georgia map, but whatever. That wasn't the only inaccuracy in the movie. Most people think Christians generally act like Pentecostals, so no surprise the crew stumbles into a Pentecostal meeting. This was only offensive because of the salvation part, which I think really should have been left out of the movie because of the personal matter of that. Besides that, unless you're Pentecostal most Christians do not run around, speak in tongues, or have healing moments at their services.

Sasha Baron Cohen fully immerses himself in the role of being Borat. He seems dedicated to it, and it does show case his talent as an actor. The movie though is everything you expect it to be, so it's hard to really shock the audience when we live in a world where basically all is seen now. He looks to offend everyone, and makes sure to get every American demographic he can into the movie so he can take a shot at it all while pretending to be the very ignorant and annoying Borat.

Rating 6 of 10.