The Dictator

58% of critics liked it

46% of users liked it

Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris
In theaters May 16, 2012
R, 1 hr. 23 min.

Movie Info

Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, Sayed Badreya, Jason Mantzoukas, Michele Berg, Liam Campora, Aasif Mandvi, Rizwan Manji, Rick Chambers
Director: Larry Charles
Rated: R
Running Time: 1 hr. 23 min.
Genre: Comedy
Theater Release: May 16, 2012
DVD Release: Aug 21, 2012
Synopsis: The heroic story of a North African dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed. -- (C) Paramount

Critic Reviews

  • David Denby, New Yorker
    The film has a vicious edge that the Marx Brothers didn't have, and it's too low-minded to achieve their enchanting blend of anarchy and surrealism. More...
  • Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
    Now [Cohen is] turning material both fresh and rancid into tepid gruel. More...
  • Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
    On the laughmeter The Dictator is closer to Borat than to the misfired Bruno, which is to say it's funny for about half of its brisk 83 minutes. More...
  • Dana Stevens, Slate
    Most of The Dictator had me neither laughing nor shocked, but just staring at the screen in anxious is-that-all-there-is? silence. More...
  • Christopher Orr, The Atlantic
    A bit scattershot and schticky, the film never quite settles into a consistent comic rhythm. Yet for fans of Baron Cohen's work there are plenty of moments of crass hilarity. More...
  • Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic
    For the most part, the movie's rhythms feel slightly off -- there are long stretches without a laugh -- and there is a mean-spirited air to the whole thing. More...
  • Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
    The Dictator starts at outrageous and rockets on from there. Screw the occasional sputter. More...
  • David Edelstein, NPR
    The Dictator is loose and slap-happy and full of sharp political barbs and has funny actors moving in and out - and at a lickety-split 83 minutes, it doesn't wear out its welcome. More...
  • Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
    Sacha Baron Cohen's third starring feature, and the first to be fully scripted, is sharp as a scimitar in one scene and wobbly in the next, but it's unfailingly audacious. More...
  • Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
    For once, Baron Cohen has a real script and a supporting cast as skilled at improv as he is. And those complementary elements make a difference. More...