Sacha Baron Cohen’s alter ago, Borat Sagdiyev, has been stunning audiences worldwide in his “mockumentary” entitled “Borat: Cultural Learning’s of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” since its release on the big screen on Nov. 1, 2006. In the United States and Canada, the film earned $26.4 million in its first weekend. It also received praise for being the highest paying opening in history for a film released in less than 1000 movie theatres.
The film was directed by Larry Charles, who was also the executive producer for “Seinfeld” and who currently produces “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Charles has also written scripts for well known shows like “Mad About You” and selected episodes of “Entourage.”
Sacha Baron Cohen stars as the Kazakhstani TV journalist who takes a lengthy “road trip” from his hometown in Kazakhstan to the United States, which he refers to as the “greatest country in the world.” Along the way, Borat falls in love and wants to marry Pamela Anderson, former star of “Baywatch.” He detours the trip to Hollywood to find
Anderson at a book signing where he attempts to reveal to her his true love. Cohen is accompanied by his “producer” played by Ken Davitian, a humorous side kick who only adds to the drama of their adventure.
Famous movie critic Richard Roeper, of “Ebert and Roeper,” commented on the film saying, “I did find this to be one of the more inventive, aggressively offensive and insanely tasteless comedies in many a year, and yea, that’s a thumbs up!” He then adds that with the essence of the Borat character “you play this wildly offensive perverse anti-semitic idiot in awkward situations with real people and you watch how they react to his lunacy.”
Cohen is very well known for his multiple alter egos. Besides Borat, Cohen plays a “cockney British-Jamaican b-boy” named Ali G., in the HBO series “Da Ali G. Show.”
Also appearing on that show is his third personality, Bruno, who is described as “camp, vain, and obsessed” by employees of HBO.
Borat is a hilarious film that is sure to offer some laughs; hoever, audiences beware of the numerous offensive jokes to multiple groups of people. The film is appropriately rated R by MPAA Classification, and contains nudity and profanity. The film also contains some reading, as subtitles are used throughout when Borat and his encounters speak in their native language.
“The movie was shockingly hilarious. At some points I couldn’t believe he was doing and saying the things I was seeing on the screen” said Stephanie Renson, a West Chester senior majoring in health and phys-ed.