Genius

Rating: 10/10 (4 November 2006)

There's not much else to say. As Manhola Dargis says in the NY Times, "the 19th-century German thinker August Bebel observed, anti-Semitism is the socialism of fools, a truism Mr. Baron Cohen has embraced with a vengeance..." If you don't "get it", then it's not for you---but for everyone else, this is perhaps the most brilliant satire and raging comedy of all time. It took me a little while to settle in to the film, mostly because I was already familiar with Borat from HBO and frankly, the trailers on TV and the Web give away much of the introduction. As the story picks up speed and frenzy, Borat's clueless charm, if you can call it that, takes on full form. I am reminded of the late-great Peter Sellers' own Inspector Clousseau. The bumbling idiocy has that kind of familiarity. Borat isn't out to hurt anyone---he just wants to discover America. And discover it, he does. Marching through the South, Borat comes across all manner of insular, racist citizens going about their daily lives. He leaves a trail of comedic tears as he lays waste to the unsuspecting victims. What a joy to be along for the ride. You'll wince, you'll flinch, you'll gasp for air. Great comedy like this doesn't come around often enough.