In 2000, Sacha Baron Cohen experienced the breakout hit of
his career with Da Ali G Show. The show ran for three seasons, starting
on Channel 4 in the UK before moving to HBO in the U.S., and consisted of real
interviews with unsuspecting subjects conducted by a trio of eccentric
journalists. Over the next decade, these three characters would end up
appearing in their own films, including Ali G, a wannabe gangster and the star
of 2002’s Ali G Indahouse, and Bruno, a gay fashionista who starred in
his own titular film in 2009. However, the third of these is quite arguably the
most famous of all the characters that Sacha Baron Cohen has created in his
career… his name-a Borat. Yes, we’re talking about Borat Sagdiyev, a television
journalist from the glorious nation of Kazakhstan. He was the focus of the 2006
‘documentary’ Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious
Nation of Kazakhstan, in which he traveled to America to learn about
American culture, and to quote the man himself, it was a “great success”. On
just an $18 million budget, the film grossed over $262 million worldwide and
was touted by many as one of the funniest films of the year. Granted, the film
did end up spawning a whole bunch of controversies ranging from lawsuits
brought upon by the unwitting subjects featured in the film to the generally
negative reception that it got from Kazakhstan itself, but nevertheless, it
promptly became one of the most iconic comedies of its time. Not long after the
film’s release, however, Sacha Baron Cohen announced that he was planning on
retiring the character even though he did end up reprising the role for a few
cameo appearances here and there. But then, in both 2019 and 2020, he was
spotted in character, resulting in many speculating the possibility of a second
Borat film. And sure enough, it is now upon us with Borat Subsequent
Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit
Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, which was finally revealed to be
happening back in September as an Amazon Prime Original and proves that Sacha
Baron Cohen’s subversive humor still shines after all this time.
It has been 14 years since Kazakhstani TV journalist Borat
Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) released his self-titled documentary. But while it
was a great success in America, it made the nation of Kazakhstan a full-blown laughingstock,
thus turning Borat into a social pariah who is then promptly imprisoned in the
local gulag. But then, in 2020, Premier Nursultan Nazarbayev (Dani Popescu)
gives him a new assignment in which he’s to deliver Kazakhstan’s Minister of
Culture (and their most prominent porn star), Johnny the Monkey, to U.S.
President Donald Trump’s administration so that the country’s reputation can be
restored. But since Borat infamously defecated at Trump Tower in New York
during his previous visit to America, he is primarily instructed to give Johnny
the Monkey to Trump’s second-in-command, Vice President Mike Pence. Once Borat
returns to America, however, he learns that his daughter Tutar (Maria
Bakalova), who he had only recently learned about, has stowed away with him…
and is revealed to have eaten Johnny the Monkey on the way there. Not wanting to
return to Kazakhstan as a failure who will be promptly executed, Borat decides
to have Tutar be the gift that he’s meant to give to Mike Pence. And so, Borat
begins to turn Tutar into the kind of woman who would be the perfect match for
Pence, resulting in exactly what the former has always been known for; a series
of encounters with random folks across the U.S. who are effectively weirded out
by their bizarre antics. Along the way, though, Tutar, who aspires to become a
journalist herself, begins to come into her own as she learns that women in
America have a lot more freedom than the women in Kazakhstan which, naturally,
ends up causing a rift between her and her patriotic father.
At this point, Sacha Baron Cohen’s style of humor is
well-established. Just like its predecessor, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm mainly
consists of a series of skits where the title character interacts with both regular
civilians and famous folks in an unabashedly crude and stereotypical manner
that always leaves his ‘co-stars’ completely dumbfounded by what they’ve gotten
themselves into. And while many of these are usually done in an unscripted
manner, it wouldn’t be too surprising if some of this film’s sequences were
staged this time around given the first film’s popularity (which, yes, does
play a factor in this film’s proceedings since Borat is forced to don multiple
disguises because of how easily recognizable he is). Nevertheless, amidst all
the gross-out jokes and numerous instances where Borat and his daughter act
like overly exaggerated foreigners, the film dutifully maintains its
predecessor’s ability to deliver some hilariously terrific satire on the current
state of American politics. And while some have argued that it doesn’t quite
capture the same lightning in a bottle that the first Borat managed to
achieve, it manages to avoid being nothing more than a carbon copy of its
predecessor by way of the cultural landscape in which it was released. The
first Borat, released in 2006, primarily skewered the Bush
administration and the general paranoia and overblown displays of patriotism
that were sweeping the country due to the War on Terror. As for Borat
Subsequent Moviefilm, it takes aim at Donald Trump’s administration and his
cultish group of supporters along with the current chaos that is the COVID-19
pandemic. And in this instance, any joke that doesn’t hit is only due to it
being a grim reminder that the attitudes displayed here are, unfortunately,
quite accurate.
As always, much of what makes these Borat films work
so well is Sacha Baron Cohen’s utter commitment to the bit. It goes without
saying that he slips back into what is arguably his most famous role with ease,
but as many others have pointed out over the years, he also deserves quite a
lot of credit for how truly fearless he is when it comes to pulling all these
stunts off, especially given the potential dangers that stem from those who are
the unwitting subjects of his pranks. After all, he has gone on record stating
that filming this sequel was a far more dangerous task than anything that he
did in the first film thanks in large part to the, to put it as nicely as a
non-Trump supporter like me possibly could, ‘enthusiastic’ behavior of Trump’s
most dedicated supporters. Despite this, though, he still manages to pull
through to deliver some pure comedic gold. However, he’s not alone this time
around as the film also features one of the best breakout performances in
recent memory from Maria Bakalova as Borat’s daughter Tutar. This is one of
those roles that requires a complete dedication to all the wackiness that
ensues from a production that’s headlined by Sacha Baron Cohen, and sure
enough, Bakalova flawlessly commits to this film’s endless array of shenanigans.
But at the same time, the addition of Borat’s daughter also brings a unique new
layer to the traditional Borat proceedings, thus giving it something
that I guarantee most people wouldn’t expect to see from a film of this nature,
some genuinely effective moments of emotional poignancy. And yes, I recognize
how ridiculous that might sound to some of you given the title character’s
usual antics, but it truly is the case here. For all the instances in both Borat
films in which Borat openly mocks the idea of women being equal to men, the
arc that Tutar goes through in this film serves as a great reflection of the widespread
push for stronger female roles in the film industry. Plus, given that the first
Borat was admittedly a male-dominated feature, it’s nice to see more of
a female perspective this time around.
I must admit that it was only recently when I watched the
first Borat for the first time in its entirety. Despite this, however, I
was very much aware of the impact that it had on pop culture in the mid-2000s
because, simply put, it was everywhere. Calling it one of the most successful
comedies of its time would be a massive understatement, and because of this, I
can only imagine how intense the expectations were for its sequel, especially
since it was released 14 years after the original. And yet, against all odds, Borat
Subsequent Moviefilm is a top-notch sequel that is arguably even funnier than
the original. Now admittedly, the second half of that statement may have been largely
influenced by the fact that I’m more familiar with our current political
landscape than anything that happened in 2006, thus making Borat’s jabs at his most
noteworthy targets in this film a lot more satisfying on a personal level. But
for what it’s worth, this film does manage to be its own thing even though it
is very much the same kind of mockumentary-style comedy that its predecessor was.
This is mainly thanks to the great addition that is Borat’s daughter Tutar (not
to mention a terrific star-making turn from Maria Bakalova in the role), who brings
some genuinely unexpected heartfelt moments to this intentionally crude comedy.
And when paired with Sacha Baron Cohen’s sharp sense of humor, you get a film
that’s just as smartly written as it is utterly bonkers. It’s also worth noting
that this film was released at the perfect time, with Sacha Baron Cohen having gone
on record stating that he intentionally wanted it to come out right before the
2020 election to properly illustrate how truly disastrous things have been for
this country the past few years thanks in large part to you-know-who. It is,
after all, one of the main reasons why he ultimately decided to bring back the
Borat character after all this time, and seeing how this review ultimately got
published after the results of the 2020 election were made official… well,
let’s just say that this film accomplished its mission.
Rating: 4.5/5
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