Just Beware the Post-Shower Scene...

Well, I finally saw "Borat", that charming new-comer from Kazakhstan, and his lovely little movie. Interestingly enough, people have become upset because they were "tricked into" saying things they "otherwise would not have said".

After watching this movie that can only be described as a prologued, hilarious candid camera tv show, I have come to a conclusion about all the hoopla: people need to stop whining. They weren't tricked into saying anything--they just didn't think they'd get caught. Is a thief any less guilty because no one sees him steal something? Is a guy any less of a jerk because no one is going to tell his girlfriend that he cheated? In my opinion, no.

That said, Sasha Baron Cohen has balls of steel. To get up in front of so many people who are pretty much just going to hate him whatever he does, and say things designed to make them furious was an insane undertaking. "Borat" didn't have to try hard to make some people sound like creeps (see:frat boys), while in other situations, he tried extra-special hard (see: rodeo). By the end of the movie, I was amazed that this man had not yet been shot.

My friends and I were thinking about this, and one friend lauded the fact that Baron Cohen had been kicked out of "everywhere". I corrected him, "no, he was only kicked out of a few places...", prompting a count. We figured that while he had been ridiculous and maddening in any number of places, his marvelous bizarrerie had won him no fewer than seven banishments, but perhaps no more. The most brilliant achievement in this film was not, however, the fact that "Borat" was thrown out of a dinner party, a hotel, and an antique shop. Rather, it was the way that he managed to do this, and managed, in other places, to be accepted.

In some situations, it was simply apathy that let "Borat" remain. In others, it was a false sense of propriety and charity. Some people who came across "Borat" were just the kinds of jerks who appreciated the racist, prejudiced, sexist attitude "Borat" had, and still more just weren't privy to the more insulting things he said. (It should be said here that I don't know, of course, what was said when the film stops, or beforehand, but in some situations he appeared to be less of a creep.)

Well, this review is mostly rambling, as I just woke up and am not sure that I've even processed this movie fully. It was bizarre, in some places realistic, and in others, clearly staged. It was entertaining and funny, but uncomfortable. While I managed to like some players, most were wholly unlikable. Not only that, but I'm still having trouble with the fact that so many people are such jerks. But hey, I'm pretty sure that was a big part of what this movie was about. Baron Cohen shouldn't be sued by the frat boys for making them look bad--he should be thanked for making them realize how bad they really look.