Painfully Funny, It mocks the whole of the Human Race, and We Deserve it

Rating: 9/10 (1 November 2008)

Yes, it's offensive. Yes, it belittles Jews, Gypsies/Roma, Kazaks, Uzbeks, Eastern Europe in general, and Americans. Yes there is lots of juvenile toilet humor.
And yes, it raked in huge box office receipts the first week, and rave reviews.
On one level "Borat" is mo more offensive than the old Candid Camera TV show-- it has just taken it to a new level (nobody ever complained about the gags on Candid camera being "staged"-- they were OBVIOUSLY staged). To enjoy the movie you have to relax, put your ego in check, and give a little willful ignorance to what is being presented; if you can read Cyrillic alphabet you know that about half of the "Russian/Kazak" text presented is complete gibberish, but I didn't let that bother me.
On another level "Borat" is deliberately offensive, tricking Americans into saying things they probably wouldn't say in other public forums (the rodeo organizer clearly stating how he'd like to kill all the homosexuals, or the entire scene with the frat-boys)-- are we offended by what Borat says, or by what WE say when he goads us? The Americans who come off the best are the ones who are easy going and not offended: the driving instructor being the best example. I got a kick out of the New Yorkers threatening to punch Borat -- I laugh, and yet I would probably act exactly the same.
Possibly the only thing that truly offended me was the extra-movie information on the Romanian village they used for the Kazak scenes, knowing that they are desperately poor and received little in compensation made me disappointed in the producers. They were mocked no more than the Americans in the film, but kicking someone when they're down isn't something I approve of.