Hello! This weekend we lined up twice to go see the new Borat movie at one of the few cinemas it was on in New York. Yep, twice. Once to get tickets for a showing five hours later, and then half an hour before the performance to get a reasonable seat (we were still halfway down the line). Luckily it was worth it. I’m not a great fan of Ali G, but Borat is pure genius as he travels from his home town in Kazakhstan to the west coast, via New York and all stops in between.
Be prepared to cringe and laugh out loud simultaneously as Sacha Baron Cohen continues to push the boundaries of ‘reality’ comedy: trying to welcome people with a kiss people on the streets of New York, singing a bizarre version of the US National Anthem at a rodeo after thanking the crowd for their ‘war of terror’ and bringing a prostitute to a etiquette dinner party. Oh, and the naked wrestling… The pace never lets up and you can’t quite tell where reality stops and the acting starts. Borat is an amazing character that simultaneously allows Cohen to skewer well meaning liberals and right wingers, the latter reacting strongly to his ‘terrorist’ facial hair and the first getting thrown by his open misogyny and hatred of Jews. The sequence where he accidentally ends up staying at a bed and breakfast run by this sweet old Jewish couple is amazing. Go see it – I don’t want to give anything away but you will have #1 sexy time with Borat.
Ps, Somewhat unsurprisingly, yet also surprisingly, Borat ended up being number one in the US and A box office this weekend. Is nice!