User Reviews

I didn't really think I was gonna like this going into it. It seemed like the sort of comedy that was just grating and would irritate me but I gave it a chance.

It really surprised me. It's hilarious. I didn't realise that it was a sort of "hidden camera" for lack of a better word, movie. It used real people and puts them in these insane situations. I think it's so interesting to see how people react.

It's also likes to dig into peoples life's and get them to expose the awful parts of them selfs. The part with the men on the bus springs to mind. It is truly disgusting and this movie Lulls them into this place where they expose them selfs. It's incredibly interesting.

The laughter is genuine even when I was appalled at what I was laughing at. Is Sacha Baron Cohen a genius of sorts or the biggest smart ass to hit the screens in a long, very long time? He makes John Waters appear like an (old) Disney product. The nastiness works because it is immediately recognizable and his targets live next door if not with me between my four walls. It is a social-horror-documentary. The three guys talking about women between beer and beer was so horribly real that I wanted to leave the theater laughing and screaming at the same time. Borat is not tender about his own background either. He is an equal opportunity offender if I ever saw one. The world is a cesspool and nobody is immune. Even his innocence is corrupt. I've been considering seeing it again, as the whole thing in one single disgusting lump was too much to take but I'm not sure I want to. I'll wait for the DVD where I'll be able to select and discard. My only question is now, what will Sacha Baron Cohen do for an encore.

Wonderfull movie. You laugh until you cry. A perfect portrait of american culture.

Many people have practically no idea who Sacha Baren Cohen is, besides his small role as the gay French Nascar driver in 'Talladega Nights'. This is because the show he had, Da Ali G Show, was a very unpopular show. Mainly because it was on HBO and late hours of the night. Unfortunately, many people never watched the show not because they didn't like it, but because they didn't know it existed. Da Ali G Show was an incredibly original variety/reality show featuring Cohen in three roles including Borat (whom is the main character of the movie). Cohen, posing as these different characters would interview politicians and such who were unaware the interview was a joke. The reactions Cohen would get out of people including one politician telling him to 'go f*ck himself', were priceless. Going into the one-month early sneak-preview of 'Borat', I was expecting a funny movie, but was skeptical on how funny the movie would be. Usually film adaptations of short five minute skits don't work so well, examples include 'Superstar', 'Night at the Roxbury', 'The Ladies Man' and 'Coneheads'. All are pretty much loser movies with a few funny scenes but not much more. However, when the ending credits started to roll and I walked out of the 'Borat' screening I was sore from laughing so hard. To be honest, I never laughed so hard during a movie in my entire life.

There is not much I can tell you about this without spoiling it for you. Basically the plot is a Kazakhstan news reporter taking a trip to the United States to win the love of Baywatch's Pamela Andersen, whom he thinks is a virgin. HA! All I will tell you is that Borat travels across the country from New York to L.A. doing such crazy stunts as taking a dump in front of the Trump Towers, publicly masturbating in front of a NYC Victoria's Secret store, singing an Anti-American Kazakhstan National Anthem at a rodeo in Nebraska, buying weapons to protect himself against 'the jews' (whom he believes were responsible for 9/11 Terror attacks) and trying to kiss just about every guy he sees, which brings about homophobia in many of the real people featured in the movie who don't know it's a movie. Some may call 'Borat' the funniest film ever made, and that's not and understatement.'Borat' is without a doubt one of the most original and ingenious comedy in the last three years, and maybe, just maybe, the funniest film ever made. Grade: A- (screened at Harkins Arrowhead 18, Glendale, AZ, 9/04/06)

This movie was probably most and the highest criticized from Kazahkstan itself. Unrigthfully so. The movie doesn't make fun of Kazahkstan, it makes fun of Americans, in a criticizing way. Kazahkstan is merely used as a platform to show the (of course exaggerated) contrasts between the advanced and 'civilized' America and the simplistic Kazakhstan and how a simplistic man, from such a simplistic place, such as Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) is capable of pinching right through the advanced and civilized Americans and puts his finger right on the spot. The movie is about Borat learning from America and Americans. for the benefits of his country Kazakhstan but the question raises; Shouldn't America and Americans also learn from simplistic countries such as Kazakhstan, for their own good and benefits?

Just like in Michael Moore movies often is the case, Borat knows to put his finger on the right place and manages to show America how it really is. An uptight, patriotic, homophobic, God fearing, anti-social country, in which minorities still have a hard time and not all rights are considered equal to some. It's funny, in the interviews it often is not Borat who says the most offensive things, it are the interviewees who do so, such as the rodeo-guy and the frat boys.

But no, the movie is not all criticism. For most part it's just a fun and often also hilarious people about making fun of ignorant people.

In all honesty it's hard to tell how much of the movie was actually improvised and how much of it was real. Obviously some sequences were scripted such as all the scene's in Kazakhstan and some other sequences will make you really doubt. Some of obviously planned the camera-positions are often too coincidental and also the fact that the movie had an actual professional director attached to it, makes you really wonder. It also is hard to imaging that all those people actually took this silly talking and looking character so seriously as they did in this movie all the time. When a person who wears his underwear above his pants and is talking slang is entering your hotel with a camera-crew following him, wouldn't you crack up, realizing that this just can't be for real? The movie is also edited in such a way that the emotions and reactions get exaggerated. It's also are the reasons why you can't really call this movie a fake documentary or mockumentary.

What I loved about the "Da Ali G Show", in which Borat often made an appearance, was that it was improvised, real, often had no point and was all about the responses of the other person on the Sacha Baron Cohen characters. It was fun to see the peoples reactions and how they did respond to the character and its outrageous and often also offensive questions. This movie is overwritten in my opinion. The movie has a main plot line in in, in which Borat falls for non other than Pamela Anderson and makes it his personal mission to find her and marry her. In my opinion the improvising way of traveling through the USA and meeting and interviewing people would had worked way better, in both terms of criticism and humor. Now some parts in the movie feel planned and acted, which is definitely not Borat's strongest point. It also again raises the question of how much of the movie is actually improvised and how much of it was planned, though I definitely believe that most of the interviews and Borat with other people were for real. Ironic, since it was the screenplay that was actually being nominated for an Academy Award.

But all this criticism aside, this is a very fun and also often hilarious movie to watch. Some of the situations Borat gets himself into are priceless and the reactions from the ignorant persons are even more hilarious. They often don't know how to cope with this odd talking and looking character from the far away and insignificant country of Kazakhstan.

There are a couple of especially memorable sequences, such as when Borat and Azamat wrestle naked in their hotel room, after Azamat's 'hand-feast' and then start running naked through the hotel, elevators and eventually ending up wrestling naked in a convention room with hundreds of people in it. There are a couple of more hilarious and memorable sequences but no one really matches up to that moment, that totally catches you completely off guard.

It's all fast paced, which makes sure that you'll probably laugh your way non-stop trough this movie.

A perfectly fun and amusing movie that also has some striking criticism, that could had used some less story and perhaps should had been more like the show.

7/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

In terms of pure unadulterated cringe-worthiness, this film just about outshines them all. It is brilliant, horrific, hilarious, sad, outrageous, revealing, and incredibly clever. It shows up people's narrow-mindedness, their racism, their inability to accept or understand different cultures. It makes me scared for the future of the world, and delighted that someone actually sees most people for what they really are - blinkered and uneducated.

Go and rent it, and enjoy. It will make you want to be a better person, make you laugh until you almost cry, and undoubtedly make you hide behind a cushion at times.

Sacha Baron-Cohen is a genius. A definite 10 out of 10.

For months, I could not go anywhere, see or read anything without hearing something about Borat: Cultural Learnings of American for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. It was being hailed as groundbreaking, and hilarious beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Everyone I knew wanted to see it, and I just stood back and could not understand what the big fuss was about. Yeah, it looked fairly amusing, but nothing more than that. Sacha Baron Cohen's Da Ali G Show never impressed me when I watched random episodes, so I was not in belief that this film would.

But with all of the hype, it made me want to see it opening weekend. Unfortunately, I never managed to. I caught it a few weeks later without the benefit of a huge audience watching it with me. And for the most part, I think my original assumption was correct.

Basically for the two people who have zero clue what the movie is about (despite it now being on DVD), Borat Sagdiyev (Cohen) is a Kazak journalist sent to the United States to observe the American way of life. He brings his TV crew with him every step of the way, and begins to explore the country. But because of his origin, he is outrageously obnoxious in his behaviour. But for some reason, it only becomes more tolerated as he continues on, allowing for many surprising responses from the people he comes across.

The satirical idea for the film is simply brilliant. The character of Borat is racist, misogynist, raunchy, and just downright vile in the way he acts. And the Americans he talks to either do not realize what is going on, or actually agree with him. The tour he takes across the United States involves a plethora of random, everyday citizens being duped in this fashion. The fact that the film was marketed so well in the US, and then further made millions, attests to the idea that this may just be the greatest practical joke every played.

But unfortunately, it is a one-note joke. The film loses steam after thirty minutes, and can barely pick up afterwards. It strikes a pretty solid barrier, and just cannot recover no matter how hard it tries. Yes, the proceeding minutes had their share of laughs and shocks, but nowhere near as much as the first little bit. It just sets itself up far too well, and fails to live up to its original design. Its nifty idea and execution really should have told people from the start that it would not work for a ninety minute long film, but I guess they had more faith in the picture than I did.

Another upsetting thing about the film was the grand amount of preplanning. It was continually being sold to the audience as being spur-of-the-moment, and very uncoordinated. But as the film progresses, you can tell that some moments are actually being filmed this way, and that some reek of being rehearsed. It takes away from the satire the film had built up for itself, and really brings down the genuine enjoyment for the film. I know it had barely anywhere to go from the start, but making it almost so that it was written unnaturally before hand, just takes away from the genuine impact that the film has. The fact that the writing was nominated at the Oscars also does an effective amount of damage to the final moments of the film, which otherwise would have been drop dead funny instead of just amusing.

The film-making techniques on the other hand, are just magical. You really get a sense of the gritty and grungy documentary look the filmmakers wanted from the minute the film starts, right up until its finale. The hand-held camera works beautifully in every sequence, and the very personal diary feel that the film gains during the second act works very well. Just trying to keep up with Cohen in certain scenes seemed to have been a test of endurance on its own. The film is very low budget, and it shows in how unique the film looks. If it had not been so heavily publicized, I think I actually would have had trouble deferring whether or not it was an actual documentary if I saw it while flipping through TV channels.

There are no proper words to describe Cohen and his schtick. It really is a sight to marvel all on its own. His dedication and perfection in this role is nearly unheralded in my mind. He goes beyond transcending himself into the character. Every moral fibre of this character is ingrained in Cohen's performance. You do not see Cohen, and you do not see an actor. You see a rude and ignorant Kazak journalist. He never lets up for a second, and is always acting in character. This fictional character is brought to life with so much energy, that he actually forms into a real life person. The line between reality and fiction is just so thin here, that it really begs the question of how far an actor will go for his character. And he is absolutely hysterical to watch.

Ken Davitian, who plays Borat's producer and sidekick Azamat, is also very good in his performance. He is almost always watching, and is so subtle. He never breaks a smile, and he is just so serious that he complements how perfect Cohen's character is. He is obviously not as strong an actor (and is barely understandable), but his valiant efforts do go rewarded.

Even with its flaws, Borat is an experience everyone should take. Some may find it funnier than others, and some may not find it funny at all. There is a bit of a middle ground, but not much. And in the process of watching, everyone will be able to marvel at one of the greatest character performances ever committed to celluloid.

7.5/10.

This movie is more deep than it appears to the general crowd expecting a laugh on a Sunday. Most people will go to watch it as a funny movie, but it is not a funny movie in that sense. It is a Satire about how people in many parts of the world still feel about homosexuality, equality of women, need for a woman's consent to a marriage, prostitution as a profession, racism, and so on. It also portrays how even some westerners feel about religion and Jesus. The scene may seriously bother you if you are too much into Jesus (It is supposed to bother you, if you really get it).

People who say this movie is disgusting, just do not get it at all! If this is disgusting, then Charles Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" was disgusting, "because it glorified Adolf Hitler, and expressed hatred against the Jews".

If you want to feel sad about how stupid, clumsy and ignorant still many people are in the corners of the world, you should watch this movie to open your eyes. But if you are too classy to understand how people live, think and get used to sufferings in backward countries, you may call it "disgusting".

Watch it with a true open mind.

Hysterically funny - and tragic in it's exposing of ignorance and deep seated bigotries. For all of you who cry that America is better than portrayed - grow up and face the fact that ignorance and prejudice live everywhere. More importantly, learn to laugh at it if you are so offended by it. Ignorance is the worst and most dangerous situation for all human beings - it deserves only ridicule and repair. The current chic of political correctness is almost more damaging than ignorance itself. Bigots and fools have been forced back into the closet - and people still do and feel the same awful things while they make sure that the use the politically correct terminology to cover their hypocrisy. Learn to laugh at yourself, and get a life. This movie is funny.

Borat proves to be the Python of our generation.

I say this as a die-hard Monty Python fan – not because the humour is on the same level or follows the same guidelines (in fact, the common ground is here is that it follows no guidelines) – but because both comedy teams mask their sketches in a feature film, passing them off as a story when it becomes glaringly clear that the latter is an elaborate pretext under which to have outrageous, absurdist and side-splittingly fun in a series of genius gags.

Yet for all of Borat's subsequent disorganisation and warped narrative, we are first served a gorgeously condensed introduction to our character in his village in Kazakhstan. This segment was possibly the biggest crowd-pleaser in my theatre and perhaps rightly so, for I would call it the film's goldmine in terms of sheer laugh-out-loud humour. Here we are introduced to Borat's sister ("She is number-four prostitute in whole of Kazakhstan."), whom he kisses on the mouth, his main interests (ping-pong, sunbathing and "watch ladies make toilet") as well as a wide variety of hilarious native Kazakhs. Undoubtedly the success of the introduction stems from a combination of novelty and a culture shock.

Once the sprawling surge of Kazakhstani culture subsides, Borat flies to New York City to make a movie-film about the glorious US and A. The booming Russian ethnic score melts into Harry Nilsson's "Everybody's Talking' At Me" and the film gets ambitious: it spoofs Jon Voight's incongruous cowboy character walking down Manhattan in Midnight Cowboy (1969). This I found a pleasant surprise, but the referential spoofs end here and the rest is all Sascha Baron Cohen – and we couldn't be happier.

The second half of Borat is arguably less compelling. It is hard to tell why, for the humour remains consistently good and there is an almost exponential stupidity with our Borat character as the sets out to go to California to marry Pamela Anderson. I would not go as far as to say the novelty "wears off", but we are a little more settled now and Borat has found his safe footing. Next, however, the film totally floors whatever safeness you may have with one of the most unspeakably graphic hotel room scenes I have ever seen. I won't give anything away, but rest assured that some viewers (*males*) will watch in horrified silence while others will literally cramp up from laughing so violently. I belong more to the latter category.

As Borat travels through America, there is a wealth of juxtapositions to be found when he interacts with the people – members of the white house, television broadcasters, etiquette teachers, Christian fundamentalists and Jews – all offers layered hilarity and a consistent cloud of laughter kept hovering in the air. Sadly, it was not always directed toward Borat (but most of the time) but toward some truly idiotic hick Americans. When I was informed the film used many candid takes, I can only hope the unreasonably creepy Jesus convention was *not* one of them.

In conclusion, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)" is a towering comedy achievement. It is apparent that Sascha Baron Cohen has done something truly cool here and has created an anti-semitic, misogynist and bigoted character that aptly embodies all racy taboos. As an actor he is unmistakably brave and uninhibited, which makes it easy for the film to lose itself in a tornado of gags, spoofs, bizarre one-liners and graphic jokes. The most fun I've had in a theatre since...forever!!!

9 out of 10

And I mean the actual definition of "literally." I was lucky enough to catch an advanced screening and I wish I could see it 100 more times.

It's hilarious. It's offensive. It's actually pretty smart as well. Sacha Cohen is so ridiculously consistent and never seems to break character, even when he turns an entire rodeo against him in less than 5 minutes.

I really don't want to speak anymore of the film, because part of the beauty of it is being surprised by what you see on the screen. I only hope they don't edit the hell out of it, because it really was a joy to see as it was.

What in the world did I just watch?

Seriously,I have never watched this guy before on HBO or any of his work. So,every time I go rent DVD's I pass this movie and think rent or don't rent.

I've seen people rush to it and say "oh,I can't wait to see this". Of course,me being a woman and having somewhat of a demented/sarcastic sense of humor I thought what the heck I should rent it and check it out.

I like a movie that puts a smile on my face,makes me chuckle and think "wtf".This movie made ME LAUGH all through IT.

This movie isn't for someone who lacks humor and doesn't enjoy a good laugh.

"Can we make sexy party"

P.S Kind of want to see it again,but I think you should see it NOW.

This movie is simply indescribable. You're gonna have hysterical fits of laughing until you bust a gut and your stomach literally hurts. The genius of it all lies in the improvised nature of almost every scene shot with real people in the streets, inside homes and at hotels. Some reactions are as expected; others absolutely dumbfounding. Are people really on board with what Borat is saying or chanting now, you'll wonder? Do they really believe that he's as stupid and unassuming as he pretends to be? Most crucially, are people really so kind, forbearing and open-minded to suffer a foreign fool like Borat so gladly?

Borat is sent to America with producer Azamat Bagatov to brush with American culture and help Kazakhstan move forward in the 21st Century. While there, he goes renegade and tries to hunt down Pamela Anderson for a quick marriage (with his 'wedding sack') after his wife Oksana is killed by a bear while walking his retarded brother Bilo.

I will admit that this film is frequently hilarious, but it's not as good as I thought it could be. Sacha Baron Cohen recycles a lot of jokes and situations from the TV show. I've seen every Borat sketch that has been made available to the public and the easy targets are beginning to not be as shocking or entertaining as they once were. He aims all of his material at the idiots who fall for it or who have not seen him on TV. Bringing a (fake) hooker to a snooty High Society dinner, boozing with moronic college frat-boys or jive-talking to a stuck-up concierge is not intelligent comedy anymore. His method of exposing bigots, hypocrites and narrow-minded idiots with his special blend of Socratic irony and entrapment has been used to great effect in the past but it's getting old. Since this movie is probably the last we will see of Borat it's a shame he didn't come up with a new edge.

Sacha Baron Cohen must have the biggest balls in the whole world to do what he does though. I could never keep a straight face while pretending to interrogate a yard sale lady/gypsy over a Barbie doll/woman she has shrunk. Nor could I deliberately, over-exaggerate a massive fall into priceless antiques in a store and not pay for it.

There is one particular scene that pushes the boundaries of taste so far back that it could circle Pluto several times over. I will mention nothing of the content of this scene but I have to warn you, it is insane, teeth-grindingly funny and absolutely disgusting. You need to see it to believe it.

Obviously there are some parts to this film that are totally staged but if you try to figure it out, Sacha Baron Cohen has to tried to make it as little-faked as possible and you'll realize how it's all done. Of particular note is the surprisingly emotional musical score to the film which really stood out and made an impression. Strange considering the type of film that it is. I must hunt down the CD.

No one will fall for Borat's schtick anymore. This movie will make him too popular. He goes out with a predictable BANG instead of KABOOM!

A true masterpiece of a very acquired taste - this is the ultimate satire of contemporary society and in a sense, the movie that launched Cohen's career.

It's an incredibly funny and well-acted mockumentary, that, admittely is not for everyone. For those who can stomach pretty much every joke no matter how gruesome, though, it's definitely worth a watch. It's got both lots of funny jokes, a unique style and a deep outlook at society.

I am Romanian and due to the totalitarian regime I was part of for all my childhood and youth, I learned to enjoy real situational comedy that was making fun of the regime and society of the time. That was apparently in your face, raw humor, but rather subtle and genuine that could make you laugh and cry at the same time.

This movie does not deserve to be called racist or offensive or comic or smart or anything. It attempts in a very childish way to extract some laughs, that's all. Any 7 year old can make fun of people this way.

I cannot comprehend why the North American public likes this low and childish humor, other than to think that most regular citizen born on this continent live within some boundaries and clichés that make them narrow minded. Perhaps the people in this society that collectively attributed such a high rating to this movie have not been exposed enough to hardship and tragedy in order to be able to use real humor to laugh at itself other than using gross jokes.

I was upset, angry and frustrated after seeing this movie and I profoundly regret every penny I spent on the ticket and if there was any way to recover them I would be first in line. Don't be the next one, please.