Borat:
Cultural  Learnings of America for Make 
Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan 
(2006)
review by Big McLargehuge

William Castle used to make teenagers sign waivers and fake insurance policies before viewing his cheap-o monster pictures back in the 1950s exempting the studio from litigation in case you died from fright, a nice publicity gimmick.

Sasha Baron Cohen should make ticket buyers for his film Borat: Cultural Learnings of American for Make Benefit Most Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan sign a waiver before entering a screening because there is a very real possibility you will injure yourself before the end credits.

I laughed so hard that my face ached and my stomach was sick. I emerged lightheaded, hoarse, and every muscle in my upper body burned as if I'd been furiously hitting the weights at the local YMCA.

I don't want to spoil a single iota of the film for anyone, so I'll only talk about the narrative thread that holds all of this madness together. Borat is sent to make a government funded documentary about the culture of the United States. He and his producer Azmat (Ken Davitian) leave Borat's small village for New York City. Once stateside he begins interviewing regular Americans who, irrespective of the popularity of Da Ali G Show, have no idea who or what Borat is.

And what is Borat? Hmmmmm… Well, he's a tall, gangly, anti-semite, misogynist, racist, moron. However, he is able to get away with these traits by couching them in a veneer of innocent cultural separation that lowers the guard of his interviewees such that they often reveal themselves to be worse than even his caricature. Notable interviewees include Representative Bob Barr, former Republican presidential candidate/whack-job Alan Keyes, and Pamela Anderson.

Pamela Anderson figures heavily into the narrative as the reason Borat abandons New York City for Los Angeles. He's seen a rerun of Baywatch and falls instantly in love with her character CJ. Once on the road out of New York City, Borat ascends into comic genius. He takes a driving lesson, buys a very well used ice-cream truck for "transport" and a bear to protect him and Azmat from Jews, and meanders through the highways and byways of America.

And what an America it is! From a stunningly racist rodeo producer, to the penultimate WASP society dinner hosts, to drunken idiot frat boys, inner-city teenagers, hotel managers, bed and breakfast owners, charismatic Pentecostals, unwary TV newsmen, and a banquet hall full of mortgage lenders at a convention, all of the worst, most deeply hidden aspects of everyday America are popped out of their hiding places and put on display.

The theater where I watched Borat was better than half full on a Thursday night 7PM show and I have never been in a cinema audience that laughed this loud, this long, or this often. Even South Park: The Movie, at which I nearly guffawed myself into a brain aneurism, was staid and quiet compared to the audience at Borat.

Here's a tip for potential viewers: don't bother with snacks. The film is barely 80 minutes long and if you don't completely finish your popcorn before the Kazakh Film Bureau logo starts there is a definite danger that you'll snarf a handful of kernels and destroy your lungs. However, if you do manage to power down corn and a drink before the logo, keep the bucket handy because you'll literally laugh yourself sick.

Jagdemash!