Executive Produced by Buddy Enright,
Nicholas Hatton, Peter Baynham,
Dan Mazer, Stuart Miller
Produced by Sacha Baron Cohen,
Monica Levinson, Anthony Hines
Written by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines &
Dan Swimer & Peter Baynham & Erica Rivinoja &
Dan Mazer & Jena Friedman & Lee Kern
Directed by Jason Woliner
Starring Sacha Baron Cohen
And Introducing Maria Bakalova
“Wow wow wee waa…”
When director Larry Charles’ mockumentary, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan exploded onto the cultural zeitgeist in 2006, it took audiences by surprise. Sacha Baron Cohen’s journalist character Borat had only previously made appearances on English television and on HBO’s short lived Ali G Show.
So, when Baron Cohen portrayed the character in the hidden camera feature film, most participants had no idea that they had been enlisted in a social satire. Despite lawsuits, claims of embarrassment, and accusations of defamation, Borat became a beloved character, and Baron Cohen was recognized as a comedy genius.
Now, weeks away from the election, Borat returns (this time to Amazon Prime) with Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bride to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
Released from a work prison camp, Borat is sent back to America by Kazakh Prime Minister Nursultan Nazarbayev to gift Kazakhstan’s minister of culture and No. 1 porn star Jonny The Monkey, to bribe Michael Pence, “America’s most famous ladies’ man” to gain favor and entry into Donald Trump’s “strongman club” alongside the likes of Putin and Kanye West.
Before departing, Borat meets his 15 year old daughter, Tutar, the oldest unmarried woman in the country. Tutar dreams of becoming an acceptable bride to a prince like her idol, Melania Trump.
When Borat arrives in the United States, he discovers Tutar has not only stowed away, but also, has eaten Jonny The Monkey. With no monkey to give Pence, Borat faxes the Prime Minister the news and realizes that gifting Tutar to Pence, will solve everything.
From this point, the film combines a loose narrative with hidden camera sequences.
And in some ways that’s the ultimate failure of the film.
Where in the first film Baron Cohen could disguise himself as a close-minded foreign journalist, in Subsequent Moviefilm, there’s no anonymity. He can’t walk down the street without people recognizing him. As a result of that, Borat spends most of the film in disguise.
There’s no doubt that the film is funny. Once again Baron Cohen provides a large amount of social commentary, focusing quite a bit on the treatment of women in our culture. Obviously the current political state of the nation is a major topic of satire and the film overall provides an abundance of political incorrectness.
And best of all, it pretty much guarantees that Giuliani is going to have a crappy weekend.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
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