A hit and miss comedy

Rating: 6/10 (22 February 2007)

I admit that I really expected to loath this movie as I had seen a few clips and wasn't impressed at all.I didn't loath it but I also certainly didn't love it either.It is very hit and miss so far as comedy goes but it did at least make me laugh a few times.
The parts that worked for me were the scene with the feminist's.Boy,did they take themselves seriously!Baron Cohen obviously focused on this and just had to take the Mick and it was genuinely funny.The naked wrestling was quite funny at first but went on too long.I also liked the scene where he walked into the hotel lobby after speaking to some black dudes.Again,this was laugh out loud funny.I have to say though the when the comedy missed,it missed by a mile.Calling the coloured guy a "chocolate face" wasn't funny or witty.It was childish and desperate.I also found the scene where he insulted a guy's wife to be cruel as you could see the hurt on her face as her husband glared at Borat.As for the scenes at the rodeo,I didn't laugh at all but boy,did it make for uncomfortable viewing.Talk about a bigot!Again,you could sense the disbelief on Baron Cohen's face as he knew he was getting movie gold.
So why did the critics rave so much about this movie?Maybe they wanted to feel in touch with a modern audience,maybe they genuinely did think it was the funniest movie they had ever seen.I doubt it.So it isn't as bad as I thought it would be but it definitely isn't as brilliant as so many people would have you believe.