here's a totally hilarious review of the movie from a
teen christian website.
Quote:
Story:A few years ago, Sacha Baron Cohen burst onto the comedy scene with his HBO hit Da Ali G Show. On his show, Baron Cohen plays three different characters: Ali G (a hip DJ from London), Bruno (an Austrian fashion reporter), and Borat, the Kazakhstani journalist. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan follows Borat’s journey to the “US of A,” as he’s sent by his government to learn about what makes America so great. With a camera crew and his friend Azamat, Borat sets out to see the States, and bring some of our customs back to his native Kazakhstan.
Let me explain the whole ‘Borat’ thing, in case you’ve never heard of him. This film, like all of Baron Cohen’s ‘Borat’ sketches, is shot as a documentary. He never breaks character, using a comedy style similar to Andy Kaufman or Christopher Guest. The film takes itself seriously, and uses the awkward situations Borat puts real people in to generate comedy. Just like the show, most of the ‘Borat’ gimmick is that he interviews people for his ‘documentary’ and either makes them completely uncomfortable or gets them to say something inappropriate. All of this is done under the guise of misunderstanding American customs and norms, as he usually makes an obscene or gross comment in public.
Pro-Social Content: Hahaha... nope. It would be great if I could tell you that there’s some awesome lesson hidden in this film: unfortunately, there isn’t.
Objectionable Content: First off, there are so many gross sexual references in this movie it’s ridiculous. Literally every scene, every conversation, is punctuated by some off the wall disgusting comment. Borat goes to a preacher’s house for dinner, asks to use the bathroom, and returns with it in a plastic bag. Not funny, just gross. Also, there is a lot of nudity or almost-nudity that’s weird. About 5 minutes of the film is a fight scene between two totally naked men, with only a black bar to censor out certain areas. I could go into detail, but I’ll just say that it was seriously disturbing.
Towards the end of the movie, Borat goes to a Protestant church and gets “saved” by the pastor. To fake a conversion in front of a church and fake resting in the Spirit is totally offensive and callous. This probably won’t be something other reviewers would mention, but as a Catholic website, it’s important to point out. Whether at Catholic or a Protestant church, it’s not okay to mock something as personal as someone’s decision to follow Christ, especially when you’re duping a few hundred people that are honestly praying for you in the church.
Sacha Baron Cohen is Jewish, and uses his heritage as a defense for Borat’s anti-Semitism. I’m not Jewish, so I don’t know what is particularly offensive to their community, but the jokes against Jews were way over the top. Just because you’re part of a group doesn’t mean you can make fun of them as much as you want. At the end of the film, Borat proudly proclaims that Kazakhstan is now Christian, and they no longer stone Jews. The film then cuts to several “Kazakh” people poking a Jewish man with a pitchfork as he is tied to a cross. That is just flat out offensive and unacceptable, whether Baron Cohen is Jewish or not.
Summary: Borat takes what could have been a really funny movie and ruins it with way too much vulgar content. Putting people in awkward situations can be hilarious, but when it’s used to offend and upset people, it loses its humor. The film leaves you feeling grossed out more than it makes you laugh, and is ultimately just a weak film that tried to rely on “edgy” situational comedy. Skip Borat this weekend, and see something worth watching.
- Gary Jackson
