Movie review – Borat (2006) ***1/2

In terms of pure laughs, the funniest film of the year so far, with Sacha Cohen in extremely good form as the unintentionally obnoxious TV reporter. The film is a bit mean when it comes to poor old Kazhakstan, portraying the country as full of prostitutes, rapists, anti-Semites and gypsies. It’s a tribute to Cohen that his character retains some endearing qualities – mainly because he has such a bad time. The core of the film follows the Ali G formula of having a person ask offensive questions to a nonplussed guest. No wonder this film is popular in America as Americans come out of it pretty well – most of the people in this multicultural society Borat meets are tolerant, polite and friendly (even Pamela Anderson). How real is the film? Are all the lawsuit stories real or plants? Many funny moments: the nude wrestling match, the posh dinner party, the rodeo. It could do with a little more story, though – the format (Borat meets someone) gets a little monotonous; the film needs a subplot (one is kind of provided with his producer character but this is not really developed enough to give it the weight of, say, Spinal Tap).