D.C. MOVIE GUYS

Movie Review: “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nat
Yes, Sasha Barron Cohen’s “Borat” is a funny film. Boorishly, mindlessly, obnoxiously funny. But if classy, clever comedy is what you’re looking for, you’re better off with a Hanna-Barbara cartoon. Cohen, best known for creating the mythical interviewer Ali G, whose “Da Ali G Show” ran for several years on HBO, plays the title character, a “lournalist” from Kazakhstan who comes to the United States to learn about our culture and create warm relations between the two nations. Anyone who saw Borat on “Ali G” knows neither of these goals will be met.

Instead, we watch Cohen as Borat makes fools out of person after person who think they’re helping him to understand the people of the U.S. At first, you watch these folks incredulously, not believing thast they don’t see through Cohen’s phony moustashe and accent. When they don’t, you start to feel as if they deserve what they’re getting.

Unfortunately, as often happens with feature films based on sketches from television shows, after a while the jokes become repetitious and you actually begin to feel sorry for the targets of Cohen’s joke. Cohen also pushes audience buttons by having Borat spout anti-Semetic comments in front of Jewish people, degrading comments about women in front of feminists and so on. Clearly he hopes to see how far these folks will let him go before reacting.

Maybe it says more about how gracious Americans are to visitors that Borat isn’t attacked that it does Cohen’s likely point that Americans a clueless dupes. I’m no stick in the mud and I did laugh at many of the pranks pulled here. But they were the kind of guffaws you’re glad are taking place in a dark theater-you wouldn’t want too many folks to know you’re humor threshold is that low.

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