Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Director: Jason Woliner
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Maria Bakalova
Running Time: 96 min.
Rating: R

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

When Borat was released in 2006 the general consensus was that it couldn't possibly be sequeled since the its entire premise was built upon the foul-mouthed, offensive, mustachioed title character's anonymity when fooling his unsuspecting targets. The movie became so big that star Sacha Baron Cohen was and is still is too recognizable as him, making the persona's return especially problematic. But now after fourteen years, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime For Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is his way back in and the solution to this dilemma was so simple, yet ingenious. Much like Baron Cohen disguised himself, so will Borat, partially doing away with the documentary-style improvisation that defined the original while retaining much of the first film's form and style. In its place is a more tightly scripted adventure that finds him as dumb and outrageous as ever, returning to a far different America than the one he left over a decade ago. 

Both horrifying and unbearably hilarious, it's the rare comedy sequel that surpasses the original, mainly because the stakes seem so much higher and the material far more controversial.  In a brutal skewering of the country's division that focuses almost entirely on the past eight months of Donald Trump's presidency, a perfect satirical storm converges, allowing Baron Cohen, to hit the material out of the park. But what's most astonishing about it is how the more heavily scripted format ideally fits this premise while sacrificing none of the unpredictable atmosphere that defined the character. Complete with the addition of a sidekick who basically steals the movie out from under him, that this boasts no less than eight credited writers makes it all the more shocking how spontaneous everything comes across, even when it isn't. Or when it is. Just look no further than what's become the infamous scene, as former New York City Mayor and Trump personal attorney, Rudolph Giuliani, finds himself in the most compromising of positions.

After humiliating his homeland of Kazakhstan fourteen years ago, journalist Borat Sagdiyev (Baron Cohen) is released from a gulag prison with the condition that he deliver his nation's prized Kazakh Minister of Culture Johnny The Monkey to President Donald Trump (or "McDonald" Trump as he calls him) as an attempt at redemption. But barred from going near the President, Borat instead makes plans to gift the monkey to Vice President Mike Pence (referred to as "Vice Premiere Mikael Pence"), at least until his surprise fifteen-year-old daughter, Tutar (Maria Bakalova) ruins that plan after joining him on the trip in a cargo crate. 

Parroting his nation's sexist, dismissive views of women with a handbook he lends Tutar, and adopting a variety of disguises, Borat must now present his own daughter as the gift to renowned "ladies man" Pence or face execution. And that's when the real craziness starts, as he begins remaking his daughter for this big moment, all while offensively awkward encounters with various strangers appalled at their behavior. With Borat inching ever closer to completing his mission, he's forced to examine the affect this will have on Tutar, while attempting to process America's heightened political climate amidst the emerging COVID-19 pandemic.  

It's pretty obvious early on that Baron-Cohen and first-time feature director Jason Woliner have no plans to pull any punches when early scenes feature Tutar watching an animated Disney-like fairy tale titled Melania, inspiring her to leave the country to be kept as property in a gilded cage just like the First Lady. Or when Borat, decked in full Trump costume, crashes Pence's CPAC speech as the VP touts that there only fifteen coronavirus cases while declaring the administration "ready for anything." But as pointed as these shots are, nothing really compares to the interactions Borat and his aspiring journalist daughter have with "regular" folks floored by their unpredictable antics.

The best, or maybe worst, of the pair's grotesque displays occur when under the guises of Professor Phillip Drummond III (what a reference) and Sandra Jessica Parker Drummond, they simultaneously surprise and horrify the guests of a debutante ball with a father-daughter dance that concludes in a widly inappropriate fashion. They also encounter a plastic surgeon ready to physically transform Tutar before she's given away, a babysitter who tries to open her eyes to her nation's misogynistic lies, a Jewish woman attempting to convince Borat that the Holocaust actually happened and, most memorably, a pair of QAnon conspiracy believers with whom Borat stays with when the pandemic takes hold. And wait until you see the song he performs at their right-wing March for Our Rights anti-lockdown rally, to an overenthusiastic response. 

While Baron Cohen's funniest and timeliest thrashing yet only reinforces the longstanding belief in his comic genius, almost equal credit should go to Maria Bakalova, who dives into the role of Tutar with fearless abandon from the moment she appears on screen. It's their scenes together that make this whole experience work, perfectly playing off each other as they move from one embarrassing situation to the next oblivious of their behavior, much of which revolves around her shock that women are allowed to drive and hold down jobs. The amount of visual gags and one-liners that land are abnormally high, not only because of their timing, but the pitch-perfect reactions of anyone who happens to be within their orbit. Couple that with the fact there's a compelling plot so closely tied to current events and it's hard to argue that this strikes a nerve its preceding film couldn't, even concluding with a Usual Suspects-like third act twist that cleverly blurs the lines of this fictionalized reality.  

What's actually been overlooked about Rudy Guiliani's hotel room moment is how much of a centerpiece it is, as if all roads of the plot lead us there, to that scene, literally the main event of all this. And that it probably ranks on the lower end of the film's jaw-dropping sequences tells you everything you need to know about what to expect. In Rudy's defense, what he believes to be a real interview with a legitimate journalist starts for him as professionally as possible until Tutar's advances begin and things start deteriorating in a hurry. The most disturbing thing about it is how he casually behaves as if this is business as usual, resulting in a noticeable jolt when the truth's revealed.

Caught with his pants down in the most literal sense, it's difficult for even the most skilled spinsters put a positive shine on what ends up being the worst look possible for this formerly respected public figure, now a very long way from his "Time Person of the Year" status. Though to be fair, he had already done a pretty good job sullying that reputation well before this. Set-up or not, this scene of him is now on permanent record for audiences and the media to endlessly dissect, regardless of its context. 

What's so dumbfounding about the Giuliani situation could easily apply to the film as a whole, as Baron Cohen's methods as Borat always seem to land the biggest blows on those stubbornly entrenched in their own belief system, occupying self-contained bubbles with few moral limits. As far as the accusation that satire this timely won't age well, there's little chance it could ever hold up as poorly as the actual events inspiring it. If anything, this should be the go-to piece of entertainment for anyone yearning for the ultimate satirical reflection of the past year's insanity.

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Director: Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Alex Sharp, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, John Carroll Lynch, Noah Robbins, Daniel Flaherty, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Mark Rylance, Ben Shenkman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, J.C. MacKenzie, Frank Langella, Michael Keaton 
Running Time: 130 min.
Rating: R 

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

If it's become customary to refer to any controversial or contested trial that captivates the public's imagination as a "circus," 1969's trial of a group of seven anti-Vietnam protesters charged with conspiracy and crossing state lines with the intention of inciting a riot at the Democratic National Convention feels like the starting point. That Netflix's The Trial of the Chicago 7 is written and directed by Aaron Sorkin pretty much insures that we won't be subjected to a dry, biographical history lesson recounting the timeline of events surrounding this pivotal event. But there's this feeling that even if he did take that more conventional approach, the material would still be inescapably compelling and entertaining enough on its own merits. But this is Sorkin we're talking about so it's not like anyone is expecting the writer behind The Social Network and The West Wing to phone it in. And sure enough, he doesn't.

Better recognized for having other filmmakers adapt his sometimes polarizing perspectives, there was a question mark surrounding how Sorkin's decisions behind the camera would affect this material given that this is only the Oscar-winning screenwriter's second directorial feature. So while we'll never know how his script could have turned out in other hands, it's tough to care when the version we do get leaves this much of an impression. With an all-star cast at his disposal, he manages to give this multi-faceted, politically and ethically complicated true story the dramatic heft it deserves while expertly balancing many of its comedic, absurdist moments. And there's no doubt that this trial is absurd on every possible level, made that much more remarkable by the fact that much of what we see did actually happen, if you give or take some details and grant the usual degree of creative license.

It's August 1968 when Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) president Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) and community organizer Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp), Youth International Party (Yippie) founders Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong), along with Vietnam mobilization leader (MOBE) David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch) and anti-war activists Lee Weiner (Noah Robbins) and John Froines (Daniel Flaherty) protest at the Democratic Convention in Chicago, kicking off a chain of events that results in violent rioting. Five months later, all of them, in addition to an eighth defendant, Black Panther party co-founder Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), are charged and eventually put on trial, with the Attorney General appointing young, idealstic lawyer Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and veteran litigator Tom Foran (J.C. MacKenzie) as prosecutors for the case. 

With the extremely prejudiced Judge Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella) on the bench, defense attorneys William Kunstler (Mark Rylance) and Leonard Weinglass (Ben Shankman) attempt to represent their rather uncontrollable clients, most notably the disruptive Abbie Hoffman and self-professed non-client Seale, who forgoes legal counsel to instead receive advice from Illinois Black Panther chapter chairman Fred Hampton (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) in court. With the events of that summer coming into clearer view through key witness testimony, the proceedings soon careen out of control, with Judge Hoffman's controversial, biased rulings making it impossible for the defendants to receive a fair trial, exposing the flaws within the government, judicial system, and further opening the wounds of political and racial unrest throughout the country. 

As far as the nation's most ridiculous trials go, this one's right up there, as the film starts in an almost jarringly scattershot montage style, introducing us to the key principle players in court, while interspersing often uproariously comical legal scenes with the fateful events that took place in Chicago. Tonally, this isn't the easiest balancing act, but Sorkin masters it, establishing all of their out-sized personalities and motivations, with Cohen's Abbie Hoffman and Strong's Jerry Rubin being the most radicalized of the group, easily getting under the quick-tempered, frustratingly illogical judge's skin. An early highlight sees Judge Hoffman constantly interrupting Schultz's opening statement to reiterate that there's "no relation" between he and the defendant. If ever there was a mix-up no one would ever make, it's that. 

This entire film really belongs to an award-worthy Langella, who just nails the staggering incompetence of a man who makes Judge Lance Ito look like RBG. Senile, racist and mind-blowingly ignorant, his actions are hilariously inept until it's obvious the stakes have gotten too high and, we're left to process the immense consequences of this eventual verdict, along with all the potential ramifications surrounding that. It's funny until it isn't, and that line's very visible once it's crossed. Much of the turmoil concerns the eighth defendent, Bobby Seals, who besides probably not even deserving of being there, is shut down in escalatingly humiliating ways by the judge, reaching a fever pitch toward the trial's end. You almost lose track of how many charges of contempt are laid down, especially on Mark Rylance's defense attorney, who eventually has enough. 

Everyone's had enough, with some faring better than others at hiding it. The two bedrocks who seem incapable of breaking are Redmayne's logically level-headed Tom Hayden and JGL's Schultz, the latter of whom isn't ignorant to the shenanigans unfolding while still retaining his loyalty to the law. A park encounter midway through with him and Hoffman and Rubin truly reveals what type of a person he is, conistent with his character in court and a reminder that boths sides are being professionally and personally victimized by this sham of a trial, regardless of how much weight the charges carry. There's also a brief, but great performance from Michael Keaton as former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who may or may not turn out to be the star witness the defense is banking on.

The flashbacks to the actual riots are powerfully filmed by Sorkin, especially revealing in terms of what it says about Hayden, who is intentionally portrayed as kind of a milquetoast character up to that point. This changes in a major way toward the end, leading into an over-the-top, but still immensely satisfying resolution that seems completely called for whether or not that's how things exactly unfolded in reality. It works for this film, which is really all that matters. 

The elephant in the room is that the timing couldn't be appropriate or strangely uncomfortable, reminding us just how little has actually changed in the decades since. It's no longer a question of whether something like this could happen again, or even worse. It has and is. That thought never really leaves you as these events unfold, holding up a mirror to a very specific time and place in our culture and political climate that still very much resonates. It's an unpredictably wild trip, and even if you know how it all pans out, it's difficult to still not become enraptured in the proceedings and eventual fallout for these characters. Of course, so much of that impact stems from the fact that it's wrestling with issues still haven't been fully resolved over half a century later.

Les Misérables

Director: Tom Hooper
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Aaron Tveit, Isabelle Allen, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen
Running Time: 158 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

As someone who's usually not a fan of musicals and was completely unfamiliar with Victor Hugo's Les Misérables on stage or screen, here presents that rare opportunity for me to go into a movie cold. Knowing so little about it, preconceived notions tend to disappear, or at least fade as far into the background as possible. But it still turned out to be a more fulfilling and entertaining experience than my few expectations had prepared me for. It's also a bizarre one, as certain creative and technical decisions are made by Academy Award winning director Tom Hooper that will likely raise the eyebrows of even those who care little about these sorts of things. Arguments could go on all day as to whether they enhance or detract from the material, but at the end it may not even matter. Since all fans will remember is whether it remains true to the source, Hooper's preaching to the choir here. Everyone else will likely be more divided, but it's pretty cut and dry what works and what doesn't, as one section of the story clearly surpasses the other. At the top of the list of successes is the inspired casting, followed closely by a sensational opening hour that sets in motion a chain events that spans nearly twenty years and claims more than a few victims. As the running time wears on and the characters start dropping like flies, it's almost too easy to revert to the joke that this should have been titled Les MISERABLE. Few will debate the film starts losing steam after the opening sixty minutes, but there's still a lot to recommend in a story so expansive that there's genuine doubt all the characters could die of old age before the final credits roll.

Opening in 1815, Les Misérables really tells two tales that eventually converge as one giant, sweeping one. The first involves convict Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), who's released on parole by prison guard Javert (Russell Crowe), but manages to escape and start a new life for himself, eight years later becoming a factory owner and mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer in France. When one of his workers, Fantine (Anne Hathaway), is fired and forced to sell her hair and turn to prostitution to support her illegitimate daughter, Cosette (Isabelle Allen) Valjean steps in to become the girl's guardian. Now, years later and set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, Valjean is still being trailed by police inspector Javert while an adult Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) becomes the object of Marius Pontmercy's (Eddie Redmayne) affections, much to the dismay of his good friend, Éponine (Samantha Barks), who harbors a secret crush on him. As Javert draws closer to apprehending Valjean, the political turmoil escalates, putting all their lives in danger as a country's future hangs in the balance.          

The first hour of this film is so strong on every level possible that it was almost inevitable that the remainder of it wouldn't be able to keep pace. And Anne Hathaway's Oscar winning supporting performance as the dying Fantine is the major reason why. She has only maybe a little more than 10 minutes of screen time, but makes the most of each grueling moment, effectively selling her character's rapid descent into hopelessness.  Losing her hair and over twenty pounds, her gut-wrenching rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" is without question the defining scene of the movie and it's a magic that isn't quite recaptured once Hathaway makes her exit. Was the role predestined, if not calculated, to win her the Oscar? Maybe, but who cares when she's this good.

It's also the best work Jackman's done in a while as a man on the run, shamed by his secret past as a criminal and racked by his own guilt. The decade plus cat-and-mouse game that unfolds between him and Javert is the film's greatest narrative asset, even when being overshadowed by other goings on in the third act. Russell Crowe himself would probably readily admit his singing isn't exactly the most polished in the cast, at times coming across as a strange hybrid of William Shatner's spoken word albums from the '60's and Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia! Crowe's not a singer, but because he's such a formidable actor he's able to pull off absolute lunacy with confidence and conviction. Whether it was for the right reasons or not, I looked forward to every appearance he made. As the swindling, manipulative Thénardiers, Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter feel as if they've just stepped off Tim Burton's set, embodying comedic goth creepiness as the innkeepers mistreating young Cosette and extorting her mother. Cohen is fantastic in the role, making "Master of the House," in which he sings about cheating the inn's patrons, the most raucous and purely enjoyable number in the film. If nothing else, the characters deserve credit for their surprising staying power, as few would guess these seemingly one-dimensional villains figure into the action as much and as long as they do.

Unfortunately, everything comes to a grinding halt once we get to the love triangle, which never seems to take off despite spirited efforts from all involved. Because the time jump is so sudden and jarring, it's difficult to immediately adjust to Amanda Seyfried and Samantha Barks as older versions of the child characters we got to know earlier. But they do well nonetheless. Seyfried, besides being a dead ringer to child counterpart Isabelle Allen in looks, is definitely the best singer in the cast, while Barks, who actually played Éponine on stage, sings and acts her heart out in a role that might not be quite as large as you expected. That her part almost went to Taylor Swift would be shocking if not for the fact that the content of this romantic sub-plot isn't entirely dissimilar to that of her hit songs. As for Redmayne, this marks the second time after My Week with Marilyn that he appears to be a spectator in his own movie as the young lovesick revolutionary. In some ways, Aaron Tveit, who plays his friend and charismatic leader of the movement, Enjolras, makes more of an impression. What saves this section is the music and the fact Hooper gets his act together in time for a strong, emotional finale focusing on the characters we want to see, even if most of them are dead by that point.

This isn't one of those movie musicals that directs itself or is in any way shot like a stage play directly transposed to the screen. Hooper's style is umistakenly "in your face" with weird dutch angles and extreme close-ups that could feel like an invasion of personal space for certain viewers. This is especially true of the Hathaway sequence, where the camera doesn't leave her face the entire time. At times it is too much and it's easy to see why many may not be on board with the approach or feel it's just a filmmaker showing off at the expense of the material. But for me, any bells and whistles were necessary since this was just never going to in my wheelhouse no matter what. The best that could be hoped for was to be sufficiently entertained and Les Mis did deliver that in spades It's never boring or uninteresting. Strangely, it sometimes suffers from the opposite problem, moving a mile a minute with hardly a moment to breathe and take it all in. But as far as problems go, that's a pretty good one to have.          

Hugo

Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ray Winstone, Emily Mortimer, Jude Law, Christopher Lee
Running Time: 128 min.
Rating: PG

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

There's this theory that the last two months of each year are reserved exclusively for "adult" movies. Arriving last November, Martin Scorsese's Hugo seemed at least on the surface to be an exception. Based on an acclaimed children's book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick and filmed and released in 3D, it felt exactly like the kind of giant family feature that would clean up at the box office, with parents taking their kids in droves to the theater as if it were an early Harry Potter installment. But they didn't. Maybe too sophisticated for children and too kid-friendly for adults, it ended up as a critically acclaimed commercial flop that racked up a healthy number of Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture) and wins. All those wins came in technical categories, which is ironic considering that wasn't even the most impressive aspect of the picture for me. I'm always weary when someone tells me something "has to" be seen in 3D. It actually makes me less interested in seeing it, so in the case of Hugo where my interest level was already minimal, the decision to wait for a home viewing was an especially easy one. My mind won't change on 3D overnight or even with Scorsese's endorsement, but this is still a magical film with or without it.

It's 1930's Paris and a 12-year-old boy named Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) lives in the walls of the Gare Montparnasse train station with his alcoholic uncle (Ray Winstone) following the death of his father (Jude Law) in a museum fire. When his uncle suddenly disappears Hugo is left on his own to maintain the clocks and continue working on his father's final project: Fixing a broken automaton robot he believes contains a secret message from him. While stealing parts to repair it he's caught by the station's grumpy toy store owner (Ben Kingsley) and attracts the unwanted attention the Station Inspector Gustave (Sacha Baron Cohen), who catches orphans and locks them in cages. His only friend turns out to be the toy store owner's goddaughter Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz) who joins him in unlocking the mystery surrounding the automaton and discovering its strange connection to her godfather's hidden past. It isn't until the full nature of the mystery is revealed that the film really starts to take off as up to that point everything is visually spectacular (deservedly winning Oscars for Robert Richardson's cinematography and Dante Ferretti's art direction), but ordinary from narrative standpoint. That doesn't last long though. 

John Logan's screenplay takes its time for a reason, and since trailers and reviews have been liberal in revealing the secret, so will I. Isabelle's godfather is really legendary A Trip to the Moon filmmaker Georges Melies who's now washed up and embittered, forced into retirement following World War I, with his life's work seemingly lost and legacy long forgotten. Film historian Rene Tabard (Michael Stuhlberg), who's written and lectured on Melies even believes him to be dead. What happens next shouldn't be spoiled other than to say Scorsese merges actual biography and fantasy in a way that needs to be seen to be believed. For about an hour straight this film enters what I like to call "the zone," where you're completely swept away by the story to the point that you forget you're even watching a movie. It's a level of perfection few films reach but Scorsese gets there, at least for the last third of the picture.  The extended middle portion of The Tree of Life played in that area earlier in the year, but there's a flashback section here taking us through film history that's emotionally moving in a way I wasn't completely prepared for going in. It'll probably play best for film buffs but I can't imagine anyone else watching it wouldn't also be affected by how beautifully it's presented.

Having heard about this flashback section beforehand, my biggest worry was Scorsese turning the story into a public service announcement for film preservation (which admittedly wouldn't be the worst cause to force on us anyway) and shoehorning the rest of the movie into that. This doesn't happen, as the biggest relief is how well all the the narrative pieces fit together and tie into the central theme of broken people in need of fixing. It not only extends to Hugo, but Georges' wife and former actress Jeanne (Helen McCrory), as well Sacha Baron Cohen's comical inspector. There's a sub-plot involving him and the station flower girl (Emily Mortimer) that could have seemed completely cornball in another director's hands, but instead comes off as genuinely touching and organic to the story.

For some strange reason a lot of criticism has been leveled against the performance of young Asa Butterfield as the title character and I'm kind of at a loss as to why. He's mainly called upon to look in wide eyed amazement at everything with his expressive eyes and turn on the waterworks when necessary and does that just fine. What's strange is that despite playing the protagonist and being the driving engine behind the narrative, the film doesn't live and die by his performance like you'd figure it would. He's important, but ultimately just a cog in the machine, which is fitting considering the film's central theme. He doesn't give a poor performance at all but if he did or Scorsese picked a less talented child actor, a part of me thinks the picture might not have suffered much at all. It's about Hugo, yet it isn't. Butterfield does good work, but it kind of perfectly blends in, possibly causing an understandable reluctance from many to praise it. Moretz is better but that's completely expected given her experience, and if she looks and even acts a little old for the role (despite being exactly the same age as Butterfield) it's understandable since the Isabelle character seems to be written as slightly older. But this is Ben Kingsley's movie, giving a career-high supporting performance that went surprisingly overlooked during awards season. It isn't off base to claim he's the actor most responsible for the film's success, bringing an uncommon amount of depth and gravity to a bitter man simultaneously running from and toward his past.

Chalk this up as yet another entry in the nostalgia craze that swept through theaters in 2011, joining the likes of The Artist, Super 8, War Horse, Drive, Midnight in Paris and many more. But give this credit for at least depicting a relationship with the past that isn't completely full of the warm and fuzzies, even if does end that way. It only suffers in having a section so powerful that the rest of the film has trouble holding its ground with it. And while it seems we were obligated to honor Steven Spielberg and Woody Allen for just releasing anything, this (unlike 2010's Shutter Island) feels as if it would still be garnering massive praise without the knowledge Scorsese directed it. Yet he's inseparable from it anyway. Given its size and scope Hugo still manages to feels almost embarrassingly intimate and personal. It doesn't at all feel like the work of a filmmaker pushing 70, but one still trying new things and pushing himself in different directions. I may not always agree with those directions but it's impressive he would try something this unexpectedly ambitious when he clearly doesn't need to and could just pump out the same stuff he has been. The nicest surprise accompanying Hugo is that it wasn't listed among the nine Best Picture nominees as a favor to the person who made it, but because it actually deserved to be.

Borat

Director: Larry Charles
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian
Running Time: 86 min.
Rating: R

***1/2 (out of ****)

I've actually tried to avoid seeing Borat. Usually any movie accompanied by so much hype is bound to dissapoint. It's almost inevitable. I mean, how could this movie possibly be as funny as everyone claims it is? Well, it is. For nearly its entire 86 minute running time I was on the floor in pain from laughter. Does every single joke work? No, because it never does in any comedy but I'll go out on a limb and say that about 80 percent of them do here. I'm convinced the character of Borat probably wouldn't work in a regular comedy, but in a mockumentary where he's unleashed on unsuspecting people who think he's real, it's a home run. The ironic thing about the film is that Borat's goal is to take what he's learned in America back to his home country of Kazakhstan, but by the time it's over we've unintentionally learned more about our own country and the people in it than we could from any real documentary.

Kazakh t.v. reporter Borat Sagdiyev is dispatched to the United States with a documentary film crew which includes his producer Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davitian) to report on American culture. He starts off in New York, but after watching Baywatch all night in his hotel room he becomes determined to travel cross country to California to meet and marry the woman of his dreams, Pamela Anderson. I suppose this is the part of the review where I tell you all the crazy things he does and says to his clueless, but mostly deserving victims (some of whom come off better than others) who actually think this guy is a from another country, but there's no way I could describe it in any way that does it justice.

We witness Borat in a women's group, at a gay pride parade, taking an etiquite class, hanging with a bunch of college frat boys, and most memorably performing the national anthem at a rodeo show. When he takes the mic at that rodeo show and dispenses his views on Iraq before singing his country's national anthem the movie takes a turn from hilarious to scary as when we realize these people are cheering his rantings (which include wishing President Bush to drink the blood of all men, women and children in Iraq). You may be surprised at the number of social, racial and ethnic issues brought up amidst the craziness of this movie.

No matter what your feelings may be on this hilarious and often times controversial satire, you have to give Sacha Baron Cohen credit for coming up with a completely fresh character out of thin air and an original idea for a comedy (which is scarce these days). Most importantly, he had the balls to go way all the way with it. The movie doesn't just cross the line, it demolishes it. It's surprising he was able to make such fools out of complete strangers the way he does and escape the filming without any physical altercations (at least that we've heard about).

Supposedly releases were signed by the participants, but there has been some legal controversy because those papers of consent were for involvement in a documentary. There were already four lawsuits filed by people who claim the film and their involvement in it were completely misrepresented to them. Personally, I think they should get a life...and a sense of humor. I would have been thrilled to appear if only for two seconds in one of the most original comedies to come along in years, even if it made me look like a complete idiot. I'm sure most participants in the film probably do share that view, even if we don't hear about it.

The movie isn't perfect and does start to run out of steam a little toward the end simply because there's only so much of this guy you can take. The good news though, is there can't possibly be a sequel (watch this statement come back and haunt me) because the character is now world famous, which puts an end to fooling ordinary people into believing this guy is for real. Without that there's no reason for the character to continue and I think Cohen realizes this. The element of surprise and spontaneity would be gone. This is probably for the better as Borat deserves to survive in the canon of film comedies as a stand alone accomplishment without being watered down by any attempts to top it.

A lot of controversy has been made over Pamela Anderson's involvement in the film (arguably the shining moment of her career) and how Kid Rock furiously ended their marriage because of it. Something tells me if that's enough to cause a divorce there may have been some deeper problems there. Just a guess. Kid's reaction proves an important point though. With Borat you're either along for the ride or you're not.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Director: Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole, Leslie Bibb, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jane Lynch, Amy Adams, Andy Richter
Running Time: 122 min.
Rating: Unrated

*** (out of ****)

If anything is ripe for movie parody, it's NASCAR. If there's any actor who should star in it it's Will Ferrell. While this may have been a better idea on paper than it ends up being in execution, it's a funny movie with many scattered laughs, and is worth seeing just to witness Ferrell being upstaged by many of his co-stars. The movie isn't quite as funny as it's hilarious title suggests, but I'm recommending it almost solely on the basis of the supporting performances. I'm sure Will Ferrell fans will enjoy it but don't trick yourself into thinking it's another Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. It may share the same writer/director in Adam McKay, but it doesn't contain as much of that movie's wit and humor. Die hard Ferrell supporters or NASCAR fans curious to see how their sport is affectionately mocked will find the most to like about it.

Will Ferrell plays Ricky Bobby, who all of his life has dreamed of nothing other than becoming a top race car driver. We find this out in the hilarious opening flashback, featuring his drunken father (Gary Cole) being thrown out of his school on "career day" after giving a wildly inappropriate speech to the kids. Years pass, his father becomes estranged from the family and Ricky Bobby has become the top stock racing champion in the country. Alongside his childhood best friend and racing partner Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly) the duo take the racing world by storm finishing number one and two in nearly every race, earning the nickname "Shake and Bake." I should mention that the two characters repeat this unfunny catchphrase nearly 200 times during the span of the two hour motion picture, hoping it will only get funnier. It doesn't.

Their friendship is threatened when Cal tires of being "Number 2" and takes it upon himself to steal Ricky's hot wife, Carley (Leslie Bibb) and claim what he feels is his rightful position as the top driver in the world after being overshadowed for years by his best friend. Complicating matters further is the arrival of gay French racing sensation Jean Girard (Borat's Sacha Baron Cohen) and the reintroduction of his deadbeat father. He must fight an uphill battle to reclaim his position as the top driver in the world, while at the same time learn more about himself.

When I say Will Ferrell is upstaged in this movie I really mean it. He did a good job and fits the role fine, but the supporting characters provide most, if not all, of the movie's laughs. There are actually a lot of funny things going on in Talladega Nights on a fairly consistent basis. At the beginning of the film there's an absolutely hilarious scene at the dinner table with the Bobby family where Ricky's brat kids, named Walker and Texas Ranger curse out and insult their grandfather while Ricky and Cal cheer them on. There's a whole feature on the DVD of deleted scenes featuring these brats insulting everyone in sight that unfortunately didn't make the cut. These kids could have their own movie they're that good, or rather bad. Then we have Ricky's very bizarre, one-sided view of Jesus he shares with everyone while saying grace.

Will Ferrell may be the star, but Sacha Baron Cohen steals the movie from underneath him as rival Jean Girard. He speaks in this intentionally inaccurate and at times totally unintelligable accent that's so ridiculous you can't help but laugh at everything he says. It also helps that everything he says is incredibly stupid. I couldn't help but wonder if I would have enjoyed the movie more if it had focused more on him than Ricky. Luckily they realized what they had and Cohen does deservedly get nearly as much screen time as Ferrell, so no complaints The pride of Jean when he introduces Gregory (Andy Richter) to the NASCAR fans at the bar as "his husband" and the reaction of the ESPN reporters who have to reveal it is priceless. It seems like the movie's making fun of gay people, but it's much smarter than that. It's making fun of southern NASCAR fans who have probably never met a gay person in their life.

The movie tries to deliver a message between Ricky's abandonment issues with his father which leads to the neglection of his own family and friends, but I was too busy laughing at all the supporting players to even notice. Gary Cole is just great as the alcoholic dad and Amy Adams (Oscar nominee last year for Junebug), in a small role as Ricky's devoted assistant has an incredible scene at Applebee's that has to be seen to be believed, and I can tell you if you're a guy you won't be able to get it out of your head for weeks. I'd recommend the movie just for her.

I've heard some complaints about all the product placement in the film, but it serves a purpose in mocking product placement in NASCAR. There's no shortage of it in this film with Wonder Bread, Old Spice, Pierre, Powerade, Applebees and many more popping up. There's also bonus fake promos and commercials starring Ricky and Cal that you can access on the special features that are pretty funny. I also give credit to the writers for not having the final race go how you would expect it to at all. When the film was over I thought it was decent, if flawed. I didn't expect to like Talladega Nights, but there's a strange goofy, charm to it that pulls you in.