The Planets Have Aligned

I saw it. Finally!! I sat down with J and we finally watched Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhistan. It was hilarious. Not as side splitting as I expected it to be but definietly original and fresh. I went into it knowing that the hype surrounding the film may sway my opinion. It’s always hard to watch a movie that everyone raves about because you are expecting this monumental film. It’s hard to live up to that, which is another reason why I like to watch movies at the theater. I get to watch them with no expectations.

The film follows the cross-country journey of Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) from his native Kazakhistan to study American culture with his burly friend Azamet (Ken Davitan). Mayhem ensues when Borat watches an episode of Baywatch. The scenes in his local village are too funny for words. The cast of characters are rich with details.

Cohen is a comedic genius. Simply brilliant. Not only is his wicked twisted mind capable of creating such a weird character; he also has the wit and articulation to put it on paper. Borat works on one level as a frat movie. Some of the jokes are obvious and just plain funny to view. However, his commentary also works on a more observatory/social level. Davitan is incredible as his hairy sidekick. I must say the scene of their naked tussle looked like two bears wrestling in the woods. The length of the scene was unnecessary yet it was one of the funnier spots in the movie.

Cohen knows that it’s funny to joke with the homies on Martin Luther King Blvd. but not to say the N-word. But it is comical to walk into a posh hotel emulating the hip hop culture and calling himself the N-word. It’s acceptable to wreck the man’s antiques because the collection was Confederate memorabilia. Therefore, you don’t feel so bad for him. Walking that fine line between totally inappropriate and social humor is tough. The jokes become malicious and too close to home or too cerebral and over everyone’s head.

A lot was made of the lawsuits against Cohen. J and I literally kept count of the people that were likely to sue over their appearance. But can you really sue someone because you’re an asshole and it was captured on film. It should have served as a wake up call. Cohen is also a genius of marrying scripted bits with impromptu gems.

Overall I wasn’t disappointed. I enjoyed the revelry and twisted wit of Cohen.

What did you see this weekend?