Frequently uproarious and occasionally side-splitting%u2026but it's very hit-or-miss, prone to stretches of unnecessary crudeness and flat one-liners.
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:204
Fresh:186
Rotten:18
Average Rating:8/10
Consensus: Jagshemash! Borat gets high-fives almost all-around for being offensive in the funniest possible way. Part satire, part shockumentary, Borat stars Sacha Baron Cohen as the gleefully sexist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic title character on a cross-country trek to learn more about our strange nation; along the way he dredges up the seamy underbelly of American prejudice and ignorance. Now the cat is out of the bag, what will Cohen do for an encore?
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for pervasive strong crude and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language
Runtime: 86 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Nov 3, 2006 Wide
Box Office: $128,387,996
Synopsis: Jagshemash! Sacha Baron Cohen, the star and creator of HBO's "Da Ali G Show," brings his Kazakh journalist character Borat Sagdiyev to the big screen for the first time. Leaving his native... Jagshemash! Sacha Baron Cohen, the star and creator of HBO's "Da Ali G Show," brings his Kazakh journalist character Borat Sagdiyev to the big screen for the first time. Leaving his native Kazakhstan, Borat travels to America to make a documentary. As he zigzags across the nation, Borat meets real people in real situations with hysterical consequences. His backwards behavior generates strong reactions around him, exposing prejudices and hypocrisies in American culture. In some cases, Borat's interview subjects embrace his outrageous views on race and sex by agreeing with him, while others attempt to offer a patriotic lesson in Western values. Wa-wa-wee-wa! Hilarious. Jaw-dropping. Inflammatory. Dangerous. Subversive. Borat, a satirical Kazakh journalist caricature invented and portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen, has been called all this – and more. Borat became a phenomenon in the U.K. with the comedy series "Da Ali G Show," in which Baron Cohen's outlandish humor and razor-sharp satire on anti-Semitism, misogyny and racism, came to life through his creation's bizarre behavior and interviews. Baron Cohen's innovative and unique work has brought him two BAFTA awards. "Da Ali G Show" was a worldwide phenomenon, and Baron Cohen is the only person to twice host the European MTV Awards. Dictionaries added two words based on his characters' "inventive" use of the English language, and even the Queen Mother was a fan. In addition, Baron Cohen received critical plaudits for his role opposite Will Ferrell in this summer's blockbuster comedy "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." Also, Baron Cohen was the voice of the King of the Lemurs in "Madagascar." Even before its release, critics heralded BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN as one of the funniest pictures of all time, and it became the highest-rated comedy on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB.com). The film's humor and acclaim stem from its comedy "dream team": Sacha Baron Cohen, Larry Charles from "Seinfeld" and Jay Roach, director of the "Austin Powers" films. Baron Cohen and Roach are the film's producers, with Charles serving as director. The production of BORAT – as one might expect about a project centered on the character – was unlike any other. Baron Cohen, whose commitment to the role is unwaveringly intense, stayed in character through the shooting, and elected to conduct publicity and interviews promoting the picture, as Borat. --© 20th Century Fox [More]
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Pamela Anderson, Ken Davitian
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Pamela Anderson, Ken Davitian
Director: Larry Charles
Director: Larry Charles
Producer: Jay Roach
Studio: 20th Century Fox
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Reviews for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make...
Often functions hilariously as an exposé of squirming American tolerance shading into condescension toward the rest of the world
Borat is the rare comedy that operates without a safety net. Cohen and director Larry Charles' film provides constant laughter and surprises while daring the viewer to be rightfully offended.
Borat's cultural learning is revealing, even if it doesn't adequately convey how it benefits glorious nation of Kazakhstan.
The most impressive ingredient is Cohen, whose inflection and timing are dead-on as he negotiates a vague accent, a native language composed of gibberish and a sprinkling of Polish, and a way of making tired American jokes funny again.
America, you got punk'd and the result is horrifying. Borat paints a picture of the American landscape that would induce nightmares were you not laughing so hard.
The backlash just proves how deep a nerve the faux Kazakh journalist has hit.
A rude punk-rock snapshot of an America that quails at two men kissing but cheers the notion of George W. Bush drinking the blood of 'every man, woman and child in Iraq.'
By the end, you're eager to wrap things up. Along the way, though, Borat is a helluva ride.
Like great theatre, Borat holds up a mirror to its obliviously intolerant audience ... that serves as a shocking, but entertaining wake-up call.
Borat may be marked as a clownish, regressive foreigner, but as often as not in America he seems right at home.
The genius of Borat is all in Sacha Baron Cohen's daring, edgy, unrestrained performance.
Uma comédia não apenas engraçadíssima (algo cada vez mais raro), mas também inteligente e repleta de observações importantes sobre a Sociedade norte-americana contemporânea.
... contrary to what the cynical profess, it is possible to cheat an honest man. It's certainly easier to fool the naive and the innocent than your average wised-up consumer of pop culture.
En se donnant lui-même carte blanche, Cohen conféra une étonnante crédibilité à un personnage qui, en soi, n'en a absolument aucune.
Un falso documental bastante transgresor e irregular que desafía lo políticamente correcto. Su mayor logro es desnudar la hipocresía, el racismo y la xenofobia del estadounidense promedio.
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