It's a bold statement, but I have been bottling up my opinion on this for almost two weeks.The Borat film is the best satirical film since Dr. Strangelove. Yes I said it. The way this film is done is so epiclly funny and biting into the hearts of America's stereotypes it's sometimes hard to handle. Sacha Baron Cohen is a modern day Johnathan Swift. The brit takes such an amazing look into the American persona through the eyes of an overly racist, mysoginistic foreigner that most people will see his character as the terrible person. But what makes it brilliant is the fact that Borat is nothing but a character and NOT a real person. Everyone else in the film is a real person, a real American. They are the ones who are real racists and narrow minded folk. Before I go on:
DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN!!
I'm not one to give spoilers, but for my point to be made, I must make exampls from the film. Since it's out today, you are stupid to NOT see it tonight or this weekend. So stop reading now and see it if you haven't already.
The film's plot is loose, but still interesting enough to make it more than just a documentary like the style of his interviews. It gives it substance and a reason for him to travel across the country and meet the many sides of American life. Anyway, the plot is Borat comes to America to learn about how "great" it is and bring the information back to Kazakhstan. When he get shere, he sees an episode of Baywatch and is in search of Pamela Anderson. This motivates him to go cross country and change his plan of just interviewing in NYC to interviewnig all over the counry.
Anyway, the main jist of the film is following Borat and his extreme persona across a country where racist and predjudice is still common. Where the movie sky rockets is how Americans react to the fish out of water. When he runs into people in New York, he goes up and tries to kiss their cheeks and they freak out.
Where the movie really shows it's true colors is when a man from the south agrees with Borat that muslims and "queers" should all be hung by the gallows. These are REAL PEOPLE! Not actors! It's shocking to see, but it's damn funny.
So why is this movie the best movie of the year?
1) I haven't laughed that hard during a film EVER.
2) It has a social commentary that is shocking and hilarious. Remember that movie that won best picture last year that had themes about racism and predjudice? This does a much better job of showing that our country hasn't changed (see in the film when Borat visits the southern hospitality home that is on "Secession Drive" (I shit you not)... this scene is out of control with how he shows these sweet southerners are fake as all hell... southern hospitality my ass).
3) Sacha Baron Cohen's acting and straight faced over-the-top racism is so ridiculous. The fact anyone could ever think that he is trying to portray Kazaks is just flat out retarded. There is no way that any person is this out of control racist (except some of the people he meets from America.)
So do yourself a favor. See Borat NOW! See it Again. I'm telling you, it's amazing on so many levels.
9 comments:
Well said! Nice site and I'l make it a point to visit again!
AGH!!!
I have some really, really, really sad movie news. I saw this on imdb and I was like, she looks familiar....
American actress Adrienne Shelly was found dead at her New York City apartment on Wednesday in what appears to be a suicide. She was 40. Shelly was discovered hanging from a bedsheet by her husband Andy Ostroy, according to the New York Daily News. Police found no evidence of foul play. Shelly - real name Adrienne Levine - was best known for her appearances in the Hal Hartley movies The Unbelievable Truth and Trust. Agent Rachel Sheedy says, "She was an incredibly sweet and talented and generous woman." Police officers are awaiting an autopsy report before deciding whether to continue with investigations. Shelly is survived by her husband and three-year-old daughter Sophie.
Ugh. That's awful.
Just got back from the theater. Some thoughts:
1. It's possible that this has been advertised a little too much. Many of the great bits have been playing over and over. There was still plenty great that I hadn't seen, but I really wish I saw it before I read so much about it. Sadly, I missed out on a chance to see an early screening a while ago. I think that would have been much better.
2. Any kid who was on the wrestling team in high school and gets pissed if you say it's just men touching each other now has no defense... and irrefutbale evidence against his case.
3. After seeing so much of the Ali G show, there isn't much he coudl do to surprise me. But he still did. That's worth something. However, I think he cut away too much from the awkwardness. People got way more pissed on the show, and said crazier things. I'd love to see the outtakes; supposedly they have hours and hours of them and the producer is trying to sell them back to HBO as the next ALi G series.
4. I loved the social commentary, but then again, it's mostly southerners, frat boys, and more southerners that say the craziest shit. So what do we learn? I wasn;t that surprised .... (mostly, again, because I've heard hicks say MUCH worse to him on the show).....
but of course, I'm biased.
5. I'm really, really, really pissed that I missed out on being at the Pam Anderson finale, because that was shot just a mile from where I used to live. I used to go see movies with my friends from Chapman at that mall all the time. If only they promoted that it would be part of teh movie... but I'm guessing no one besides her was informed.
6. All in all, though, he did a great job. the thing that surprised me the most was that he did string a plot out of it. It wasn;t much, but I'm impressed he made a real story out of the most random interviews. I think this is one fo those movies that's worth more to the general public than me..... and I'll stop before I soudn even more like a pompus left-wing ass.... more than I am.
7. Oh, and the preview for RENO (Finally!!!) got me a little too excited. I missed out on a chance to see an early showing of that, too, along with this and THe D. But tehy're all comign out. Thank GOD.
And so I am again...
getting back from places that matter in the world of Paul Tsikitas.....
so the Who was pretty great tonight. Glad I got to see them before it's too late. Some thoughts:
1. Opener: I can't Explain. Closer of set: Won;t Get Fooled. Opening encore: Pinball Wizard. Finale: new accoustic number.
2. In between, they had a great mix of classics and new stuff. Nothing from Quadro or Sell Out, but I didn't expect mucht.
3. For the encore, they played a large chunk of the second half of Tommy, which was awesome. From Pinball tehy went into Amazing Journey / Sparks and then the Overture and even Feel Me, Hear Me. Pretty amazing.
4. Baba O' Riley is always great.
5. It's one thing to hear kids jokingly scream for Magic Bus; it's another to see graying old men do it.
6. There are a lot of British people in Hollywood film offices, and I think every one of them was there. And drunk. Which is how it should be.
Lastly, I don;t care if he is a pedophile, Pete is still great. He was fired up, jamming hard, and then ramblign wistfully between songs about Moon and Entwistle. Good to see him in full form.
(And if he needs to rape kids, let's give him Rick Santorum's kids. He thinks gay sex is the same as molestation, so Pete can just say he was gay.... and drunk.)
Whoa. Pete was never found guilty of pedophilia.
But sounds like the same set I got minus Magic Bus. I did not get the goods on that front.
(Sorry, that bit was mostly directed to certain other people who were with me at the concert and have repeatedly made jokes on behalf of Pete's alleged nature, to my chagrin.
I would never question the man.)
I don;t know if this posted right on your more recent post, so maybe this will work.
More show notes, especially on new stuff:
I enjoyed the slower numbers liek Man in a Purple Dress and Tea and Theatre, which they really got into emotionally, closing the show on the latter. Reminds me of Gettign in Tune, one of my faves.
Pete rambled on and on about how cool he thought Black Window was, because it was about Stockholm Syndrome. Meh....
And I don;t knwo which one they did where Pete said it was like an opera condensed into six minutes. Well, I didn;t see it that way. The Rock is liek that. Not this.
We've Got a Hit seemed to be poking fun at their early bubblegum days.
I don't know. It's hard for me to listen to any classic rockers' new stuff and compare it with the old. I mean, if Page and Plant can't do justice to Zep without Jones and Bonham, that doesn't bode well for Pete and Roger. I also haven't listened to any Stone or Dylan album that came out past the mid 80;s. And post-Waters Floyd is nowhere near pre....
Thsi is why I didn;t bother to see them before, despite them being a fave since high school. Only after you said it was worth it did I decide to go. I figured I should do it before anythign else bad happens. And I think they're in better shape with a deplented lineup than the rest of those bands. But that show was more about nostaliga, with people a million times more excited for old hits than anything new.
At least they jammed for a long stretch of Tommy. Ironically, I've loved them even more since you gave me more of their old stuff. SO it was bittersweet to only hear hits and new stuff. I wanted some Getting in Tune, She Should've Used Odorono(??), I Can't Reach You, Maryanne with teh Shaky Hands, Drowned, 515, Sally Simpson, and so forth. Btu I knew I wasn;t getting that...
So I give it a good but not great score.
I apologize if I've rambled enough for 70 comments in merely 7. To all new vistors of this blog, don't countit against Paul. He has many friends with too much spare time.
i just saw borat.
amazing.
"i have gypsy tears to protect me from the aids."
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