Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan Movie
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Kazakhstani TV personality Borat is dispatched to the United States to report on the "greatest country in the world." With a documentary crew in tow, Borat becomes more interested in locating and marrying Pamela Anderson than on his assignment.
| Sacha Baron Cohen | Borat Sagdiyev |
| Ken Davitian | Azamat Bagatov |
| Luenell | Luenell |
| Ilham Äliyev | Himself |
| Spirea Ciorobea | The Village Mechanic and Abortionist |
| Michael Psenicksa | Driving Instructor |
| Jim Sell | Car Dealer |
| Larry Walker | Antique Store Owner |
| Pamela Anderson | Herself |
| Mariam Behar | The Jewish Couple |
| Linda Stein | Veteran Feminist |
| Larry Charles |
7.70 out of 10 (75030 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Sacha is funniest
posted on 30 Aug 2009I'm a hard core Sacha Cohen fan. I'm watching Ali G / Borat long before this movie was made. This movie imports many ideas from the Ali G show, e.g. pubic joke, learned etiquettes, using his sister etc. etc. He still added some new jokes and movie is hilarious. That's the point.I don't see movies to get educated. I don't see Borat as a documentary. I don't care if it is politically wrong. I don't like overnight experts of Borat who watched his movie only. It made me laugh, just like Ali G show. I don't care what any body think of me or him. I like Borat humor, how offensive he is and how he can say just any thing. I'm from a Muslim family and I was taught, subtle and not-so-subtle way that Jews are "very bad people". Maybe Borat drive little close to home? Maybe I see myself in Borat (what I could've been, if I didn't get educated), Maybe I see my relatives in him. Whatever, I find myself laughing uncontrollably when I saw Borat.Sacha remains my favorite comedian. And this DVD goes in my collection, along with Borat clips in my youtube account. Sexy time. Hi Fiiiive.
Borat Great Success!
posted on 28 Aug 2009"Borat!: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" Brian Murphy-Evanston RoundTable. Sacha Baron Cohen, the London-born, Cambridge--educated comedian responsible for the brazenly funny "Da Ali G Show," has made a career embodying clueless characters. His trio of journalist incarnations, including hip-hop wannabe Ali G, flamboyantly gay fashion correspondent Bruno, and naïve, Kazak reporter Borat Sagdiyev, through their shockingly candid questions and bizarre behavior, rile the tempers and wrest the unholy truths from their unwitting subjects. With "Borat!..," Cohen has created the funniest, creatively offensive film of the year, and the most intelligent "dumb" film since "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut." The film blends the line between reality and fiction, documentary and scripted action. While Cohen's guerilla-style interviews remain intact, they are weaved together by a fictional story involving the Kazak government sending Borat and his television producer, Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davatian) on a trip to the United States to learn from the superpower.Kazakhstan is presented in the film as a depressed, backwards country, which led to calls for boycotts from its citizens and the government. After watching the first five minutes of the film, it is easy to see why the moderate, western-leaning country had issues with Cohen's characterizations.We are first introduced to Borat in his small village, preparing to depart for America. He speaks with affection concerning his town while pointing out its problems. Along the way, we meet his sneering neighbor, mother, ill-tempered wife, and after the two engage in a deep kiss, his sister. He introduces us to local Kazak ceremonies, such as "The Running of the Jew 2004" (an event fabricated by the Jewish Cohen for satirical purposes), which is as funny as it is intentionally offensive.The film takes off when Borat and Azamat reach America, traveling the country in an ice cream truck, a live bear riding shotgun (seriously), seeking advice from true Americans on their way to Los Angeles. Borat, having fallen in love with Pamela Anderson after seeing an episode of "Baywatch" in his hotel room, hopes to marry the star and bring her back to Kazakhstan.Without giving away any of the gags, Borat terrorizes (with irony, not WMD's, mind you) a humor coach, a driving instructor, rodeo attendants, elitist guests at a dinner party, mortgage brokers at a hotel conference, security guards, and pretty much any one he tries to greet by giving a kiss on the cheek. Inconceivably, Pamela Anderson makes an uncredited cameo at the film's end, and whether the conclusion was real or staged remains to be seen (I vote for the latter).Despite his sexism, bigotry and anti-Semitism, when put up against Americans who are not in on the joke, Borat miraculously escapes as a sympathetic character. His ignorance is played by Cohen as an almost childlike innocence, and his joyful exuberance is infectious. Furthermore, we realize Borat's idiocy is an act. Sadly, the same cannot be said about the disturbing array of homophobic southerners, racist Americans and misogynistic frat boys he meets along the way.Doubters of Cohen's relevance can look to Cannes, among the dozens of other prestigious film festivals, who have championed the film at first screening. Doubters of Cohen's talents and/or dedication to his craft can look to his talk show promotions and film screenings, both of which Cohen has refused to attend other than in full-on Borat method mode. He is like Andy Kaufman with a punch line. And, much like the legendary comedian, he refuses to pull punches, infuriating those he involves for our amusement.
Crude, boorish, offensive... and funny!
posted on 28 Aug 2009This is one funny film. Those who just want to revile it for breaking all of society's taboos just need to get over themselves and laugh.Borat comes across as an anti-Semitic, racist homophobe, but remember, folks, Cohen is ACTING! He's an actor, people. And he's a comic. He's supposed to tell dirty, offensive jokes. That's his vocation.What's really offensive, yet hilarious, is the way the people in the US are exposed as the racist, homophobic rubes they really are.And when I saw Borat and his traveling companion Azamat get into their hotel room wrestling match, I almost laughed myself sick. I'd never seen a display like that before, and I hope I don't again, but at the time I saw it, I thought my heart would stop. When this encounter spilled over into a real estate brokers convention, well, that was all she wrote.Don't bother with this if you're an uptight airhead. You won't enjoy it. But if you enjoy laughing at jokes that play on others' inhibitions, well, you'll have a good time.
Borat --- Destined to have a short shelf life
posted on 26 Aug 2009Look --I like to Christian bash just as much as the next fellow. And as far as mocking pretentious southern Republicans -- the kind who inhabit Seccession Drive in the movie .....well I am usually as game as I can be. Same goes with showing up drunken frat boys. I have built up a great deal of eager animosity against all of these groups. But watching Borat skewer these same people somehow caused me a bit of discomfort. Sure, it was an uneasiness punctuated by laughter --- but still the whole process left me a little queasy. It has been said that this movie is holding a mirror up to America --but I think that the makers of the movie (Cohen, Charles et al) really say a lot more about themselves than about the U.S. ---- The same goes for those who have posted review after review on IMDb (and other places) that herald this as as the "funniest movie ever made." There are a lot of laughs to be found here --- but they are easy laughs - the moral equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. Where does the comedy stop and the ugliness begin?The inspired comedic moments in this film are there but they are few and far between. Borat addressing the crowd before the Rodeo and then mangling the National Anthem. The highlight of this sequence is a cowgirl bearing the stars and stripes taking a tumble - a fortuitous accident that greatly benefited the filmmakers. Then we have the infamous nude wrestling sequence involving Borat and his morbidly obese producer (Azamat). It's funny the first time you see it--but I would bet heavy money that subsequent viewings are rather less hilarious.The upshot of all of this is that the stars danced just right in the sky for Borat to be the huge success that it has been -- but don't tell me that there is anything truly groundbreaking here -- and certainly not anything socially relevant. Borat is just not in that class. And the mass of humanoids will probably figure that out sooner rather than later. I have to believe that the number of people who buy the DVD for Borat and whip it out once a year (like I do with Dr. Strangelove) to get a few laughs -will, in the end be, quite disappointed. It's going be like eating a stale sandwich. In that respect, Borat is easily the "Titanic" of the comedy genre.
Brilliant
posted on 26 Aug 2009Thanks to sharp satirists that came before, like Lenny Bruce, Andy Kauffman, Norman Lear, Redd Foxx and Eddie Murphy, Sacha Baron Cohen and his colleges create a sensation with "Boart." Co-scripter Anthony Hines and Director Larry Charles join forces with Cohen to satirize every sacred cow they can conjure. This includes nationalism, racism, politics, sex and religion.One outrageous joke after the next leave some audiences in stitches throughout. Indeed, it would be good to have nurses in the lobby to treat those whose sides ache (or have upset stomachs).Not that this is everyone's cup of tea; far from it. Like much avant garde and underground humor, there is much here that could be construed literally, and be downright offensive.I suspect this will play better in larger cities and more hip cosmopolitan regions than in more conservative provinces. Well, if some folks don't "get it," that's their problem.The rest of the younger, hip set will, and laugh themselves silly over the stinging satiric thrusts taken at so many folks' ridiculous prejudices.There's never been a film quite like "Borat," and it lifts the humor bar several notches higher (or lower, depending on your point of view) -- daring others to "top this." As for "bad p/r," what's scandalous today will be tame turkey tomorrow."Borat" is a brilliant piece of work, powerful and unforgettable.
I hated it..
posted on 26 Aug 2009This movie is terrible don't waste your money. My husband and I rented it thinking we would enjoy a good laugh together but we didn't. We turned this off before it was over both my husband and I hated it. I thought they missed the mark on most if not all jokes. I believe I chuckled twice. Most of the time my husband loves what I call "dumb funny" movies but even he said let's turn this off. It was crude and not even funny crude. I was more uncomfortable than anything at how embarrassing this must be for everyone involved. I'm not a huge fan of crude humor so that that into consideration but enjoyed the crude funny found in movies like American Pie, 40 days and 40 nights, and even parts of Jack Ass but this was just stupid and not worth watching. What a waste of film.
crap
posted on 24 Aug 2009this is the crappiest movie i have ever seen i didn't laugh once it was also really discriminating to everyone especially, Jews, women and black people. i can't believe he was aloud to do this... it warn't even funny, the only people who would find it funny would be people who laugh at anything....this movie should not have been made... i Can't believe a wasted my money on this crap i also can't believe people in the cinema were laughing at it, shows how much respect they have for people's race, culture and religion... this movie should be banned... and it was rated a 15...he is such a bad example for people and now people are gonna start copying him.
Borat was great......................NOT
posted on 24 Aug 2009this movie stunk to high hell sure it had its moments...but all movies do...and the bad ones out weighed the good by so much. I saw this movie on the day it came out...and i wasn't the only one who left with the same opinion. As i was leaving people were talking to people who were waiting in line to get into the next show of Borat saying: "this movie sucked!" or "go get a refund now, don't waste your time!". And i completely agree with both of these. Me and my friends wanted to leave and get our money back and go to the arcade. I think this movie would have been a lot better...if it not for 4 scenes: 1) The scene with Pamela Anderson at the book signing 2) The Scene with the frat boys in the trailer 3) The Running Of The Jew scene and finally 4) The scene where the two of them were wrestling naked in the hotel room and then preceded to run around the hotel completely naked...to make it worse...i was sitting in the front row of the theater.In closing, this movie sucked and for the sake of all humanity...save your time and money
Laughed so hard it hurt!
posted on 20 Aug 2009Without a doubt this is the funniest movie I have ever seen. Sacha Cohen shows an absolute genius for pushing all the right American cultural stereotype buttons. Do not worry if your not already a fan of his, as I for one hated Da Ali G show but loved Borat. The laughs start immediately and don't stop until well after the final credits have rolled. It is a travesty that at last nights Golden Globes "dreamgirls" at half the gross and 4 times the cost beat Borat out out. Shows how absolutely meaningless the globes are. I cannot wait until this movie comes out on DVD, as every scene left in the movie is hilarious I expect some treasures had to be left on the cutting room floor. As a side note try to see Sacha's appearance on Conan O'Brians show which is as funny as any scene in the movie. If you only see one comedy, make sure this is it
Overrated
posted on 20 Aug 2009Honestly, I have watched this film three times and yet to figure out why people seem to think it is "funny". IT'S NOT. The first time watching it, I just watched it, and I laughed twice, during the entire film. I went to Borat hoping to see some of the humor and craziness I saw with Ali G. Denied. So the second time I saw this movie (a friend wanted to see it), I really really tried to open my mind to the "humor". But again, denied. The third time was out of spite rather than desire.Its a slow, uncomfortable, unfunny movie. People will say that uncomfortable is what makes it funny. No. Its the bad kind of uncomfortable.And to anyone who compares this film to Monty Python put down the crack pipe because its killed your ability to reason.
this movie is the unspeakable thing that has ever existed
posted on 18 Aug 2009OK... for all of you people who think this is riot. This is the garbage that dumb, awkward people watch for five times. For God's sakes PEOPLE you think watching a dumb guy doing sickening things and saying racist comments is funny?????? Anybody who is in love with this movie needs a reality check. If you think I'm weird then YOU ARE WRONG!!!!!!! I'm a Jewish person and a foreigner and don't think this is funny. I'm saying this because people fall for any stupid garbage they see in the theaters. Sometimes some people are hard to understand....I DON'T CARE IF SACHA COHEN IS Jewish!!! I'M HAPPY THEY BANNED THIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST!!!! AS A MATTER OF FACT IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN RELEASED!!!! I want people to understand my point.
niiice
posted on 16 Aug 2009I was laughing throughout this movie, it is hilarious. There are so many memorable jokes, my favourite was the scene at the dinner table.'In my country men would go crazy for these two', says Borat gesturing at 2 of the guests wives. 'Not so much for...' He points at the pastors wife. However, every now and then it did make me feel uncomfortable, especially when he talks to what seem to be average American Joes' who turn out to be either racist, homophobic or just ass-holes. There was one scene when i had to literally close my eyes, the fight between the naked Borat and the naked producer Azamat was disgusting. 'Eat my ass hole' says Azamat as he rubs his behind on Borats face. I think the film could have done without that.Despite that scene, i thought the film was the best comedy i've seen since Dodgeball and Anchorman- much better though.] Whatever the critics say about Borat being a crusader exposing the Americans as being bigots like himself, that is a load of rubbish. it is just a comic going to America and getting a phenomenal movie out of it. whether or not all of it is genuine or staged is another topic altogether...
Has there ever been a comedy that contains so many classic scenes
posted on 16 Aug 2009Borat was relentless from the word go there were countless moments where it just made you want to laugh out loud and cringe at the same time. It just showed how ridiculous some peeps are in middle America, they were still cheering when he called Bush a warlord!!!! Anyways just wanted to say thoroughly enjoyed it and hope they don't push Cohen into rushing a follow up with Bruno as this was such a well thought out production.One question who thought Pamela was acting or didn't have a clue?Frank: You know I was thinking we could go back home... have some dinner and pop in the Sisqo CD... no? Weren't thinking that? OK.
It was suppose to be funny?
posted on 16 Aug 2009Okay, so I hired it out on DVD to see what the big deal about this movie was and as I watched it...I hardly laughed at all, why? Because it wasn't even funny, it was just plain stupid. Sure, near the end, it was alright, but to me, this movie is nowhere near as funny as other comedy movies like Epic Movie, Shawn of the Dead, Scary Movie, etc, etc. I know comedy when I see it, and this one fails, that's for sure, but I guess this could be put as a real bad acting, drama type of movie if they had actually tried for once. Oh, and before I forget, a second Borat movie? Please, save yourselves the trouble and don't bother making it and if you do, trust me and don't watch this, unless of course, you have no sense of humour what so ever and would laugh at almost anything, even if it's not funny in ant sense.
Genius
posted on 14 Aug 2009There's not much else to say. As Manhola Dargis says in the NY Times, "the 19th-century German thinker August Bebel observed, anti-Semitism is the socialism of fools, a truism Mr. Baron Cohen has embraced with a vengeance..." If you don't "get it", then it's not for you---but for everyone else, this is perhaps the most brilliant satire and raging comedy of all time. It took me a little while to settle in to the film, mostly because I was already familiar with Borat from HBO and frankly, the trailers on TV and the Web give away much of the introduction. As the story picks up speed and frenzy, Borat's clueless charm, if you can call it that, takes on full form. I am reminded of the late-great Peter Sellers' own Inspector Clousseau. The bumbling idiocy has that kind of familiarity. Borat isn't out to hurt anyone---he just wants to discover America. And discover it, he does. Marching through the South, Borat comes across all manner of insular, racist citizens going about their daily lives. He leaves a trail of comedic tears as he lays waste to the unsuspecting victims. What a joy to be along for the ride. You'll wince, you'll flinch, you'll gasp for air. Great comedy like this doesn't come around often enough.
Most obscene movie ever
posted on 12 Aug 2009If you have one grain of a value system you will boycott this movie. It is disturbing that it can be shown in public theaters. I have been less offended by pornographic films during my college days than this film. What does it take to be rated X nowadays. to you who found this amusing , reevaluate you ethics, This film offends anyone with a moral value system or a since of humanity. This film mocks society and people in a way that goes way beyond humor. I was looking forward to seeing a comedy and was embarrassed to be seen in the theater watching this film. I wish somebody would have told me how bad it was before I took my wife on a date to this awful movie
One of the great comedies
posted on 12 Aug 2009This is the best comedy in the past 5 years or so. I'm pretty surprised that so many here are bashing it because, in their view, it's offensive. I don't think the movie actually targets any group (Christians, Nationalists, Southerners, Kazaks.) I think the target simply is people who take themselves too seriously. When an IMDb user gives one star to this movie, I get curious as to what comedies he/she loves. I encourage them to list the comedies they like. As for me:Spinal Tap South Park Monty Python ZoolanderThose are my favorites. Borat is up there with those greats.
Borat is awful movie
posted on 12 Aug 2009O, it was awful. To say the truth Borat is just a bad movie. Really pathetic and disgusting. Is it funny to see two naked men fighting with each other? Of course Cohen told that this movie is partly documentary but I believe that he lies. It's just a show like wrestling. Do you believe that old man really told this things about homosexuals and Muslims? Do you think that reaction of the audience on rodeo was real? It's obvious that it was a show. Cohen played disgusting character, told lies about Kazakhstan and USA and after all got his money. And some people really believe in this things. Guys don't be so naïve. But after all worst thing in this movie is humor. I thought that it couldn't be anything as disgusting as "My boss' daughter". It was a mistake. This film shows us a new level of stupid humor: struggle between naked men, toilet on the street and so on. Really I don't know who likes this type of jokes!
Never laughed so much during one movie. Tears rolled. Sides split.
posted on 10 Aug 2009Brilliant. Inspired. Ballsy beyond belief. Sasha Baron Cohen, the Evil Knievel of modern comedy, takes so many chances he's bound to miss sometimes but there aren't too many misses in this, his first starring movie. Gifted at the level of Robin Williams or Jonathan Winters or Steve Wright or Groucho Marx, Cohen possesses that rare ability to see the same world as we do, swallow it, and regurgitate back bizarre silly reflections that simultaneously make you laugh out loud, tickle your soul and show you the real work left for humanity. Some of the gags in this movie are so one of a kind, so sui generis, we might never see their like again. The only sad part is that BORAT becoming famous lessens the chance that there will ever be another BORAT movie with as much existential guerrilla comedy. BORAT in a hall or stadium of the unsuspecting is the finest example of asymmetrical comedic warfare that ever made the screen. I laughed so much tears rolled down my cheeks. Bravo!
Outrageous, but 'cringingly' hilarious
posted on 30 Aug 2009If you like the outrageous and the absurd you will probably like this movie, a quirky mixture of satire and slapstick (Norman Gunston on steroids). Despite the in your face style and lack of any substantial storyline, it is comes together quite well and is largely carried to great heights by the ability of S.B.C. to immerse himself in his bizarre Borat creation, purportedly a Khazakhi journalist on a cultural fact finding mission in the US, but in reality a degenerate clown whose real nationality is irrelevant other than being out of reach for most Americans. His acting is so well disciplined that SBC does not let any amount of social discomfort perturb his portrayal. The resulting outcomes from a series of inappropriate interactions with unsuspecting Americans are illuminating, and hilarious in a cringing way.The foundation of the movie is that very few people (at least none that made the final cut) recognize Borat as a fake, and his behavior either elicits the caveman in them or in the case of the more genteel, being at a loss with how to cope. These failures are an attempt by the creators to indict the US for being ignorant, bigoted and pompous, and to some extent this succeeds. Nevertheless, Borat is so outrageous that you're left with little doubt that most peoples would stumble under the onslaught of his antisocial proclivities. Understandably some of the 'victims' become very upset and this adds to the tension that SBC plays on so well. This satirical slant with a liberal lashing of ridiculous situations and comments, the competing Kazaki neighbour, the cow in the house, the sister, the chicken, the bear, 'the shape shifting jews', the wrestle, the attempted kidnapping; all make it a silly but great overall package.Well done, good laugh. My favorite bit...the national anthem..'Kazakhstan number one exporter of potassium Other countries have inferior potassium'...magnificent.