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Kazakhstani TV journalist Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) – hobbies: ping pong, disco dancing, sunbathing, shooting dogs, and taking pictures of women on the toilet – is sent to New York to learn about the culture of the “US and A” and enlighten the people of Kazakhstan with his documentary. But when he sees Baywatch with Pamela Anderson on TV, he falls in love with the golden-haired woman and convinces his producer Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davitian) they have to go to California. But not by plane, “in case the Jews repeated their attack of 9/11”.
After getting some driving lessons and lessons about woman in America (Driving Instructor: In America, a woman can choose who she has sex with. Borat: WHAAAAAAT?) Borat and Azamat buy a used ice cream van because they don’t have enough money to buy a “car that attract woman with hairless vagine”, which would be a Corvette, or a Hummer, according to a car salesman.
With the van, Borat’s chicken and a bear, they go on an epi(sodi)c journey through America’s south and experience adventures with an etiquette trainer and a fine diner party, drunk frat boys, a jewish couple running a Bread & Breakfast, rodeo cowboys, a Jesus convention and others before Borat finally arrives in California where he wants to marry Pamela Anderson in true Kazakh style …

Borat is one of Sacha Baron Cohen’s fictious characters from “Da Ali G Show”, a journalist from Kazakhstan who elicits weird and exposing statements from his unknowing interview partners: politicians, celebrities, journalists, scientists and professionals.
Borat’s bizarre characterization of Kazakhstan as a country where retards are held in cages, shooting dogs and nude male wrestling are common and acceptable hobbies, women are not allowed to go to the movies or drive cars is never questioned, and his offensive and absolutely NOT politically correct, sexist, racist, antisemitic and homophobic statements are more often agreed to than objected.
Borat the movie does basically the same as the TV-show – unmasking ignorance and bigotry of unknowing participants, in a hilariously funny and sometimes shocking way. Reportedly, several of Borat’s “victims” are going to sue the makers of BORAT, including the frat boys and the Romanian villagers who stood in for Borat’s Kazakh home-village, while a TV news producer claims she lost her job after inviting “Borat” into her news program.
Also threatening legal action is the government of Kazakhstan, and “Borat” responds on his homepage with a video message stating: “In response to Mr. Ashykbayev’s comments, I’d like to state I have no connection with Mr. Cohen and fully support my Government’s decision to sue this Jew. Since the 2003 Tuleyakiv reforms, Kazakhstan is as civilized as any other country in the world. Women can now travel on inside of bus, homosexuals no longer have to wear blue hats, and age of consent has been raised to eight years old. Please, captain of industry; I invite you to come to Kazakhstan where we have incredible natural resources, hardworking labour, and some of the cleanest prostitutes in whole of Central Asia. Goodbye! Dzienkuje!”

Claims that BORAT is an antisemitic, sexist film clearly are from people who either didn’t see the movie, or are humor-challenged and didn’t get who the joke really is on. If there is a shortcoming, it is that the single episodes do not last long enough – BORAT is one of the funniest films of this year, it has a message – and it has Pamela Anderson in it!

BORAT Movie Trailer

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 19th, 2006 at 2:54 pm and is filed under 4-star-movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.