Wildly uneven and a bit cruel

Rating: 6/10 (7 September 2008)

This is a very difficult film to review since there is absolutely nothing like it. Sacha Cohen perpetrated a hoax by traveling across America claiming to actually be a visitor from Kazakhstan. However, instead of begin a documentary, it was a comedy in which Cohen acted like an obnoxious idiot and filmed how people reacted to him. In other words, most of the participants had no idea it wasn't a documentary and most of those on film appeared to be exceptionally patient with Cohen--even when he behaved like a boorish idiot (such as when he and his 400 pound friend ran naked through a hotel or pretended to become "born again" at a Pentacostal revival meeting). In some ways this was very funny and in others very cruel. Because of this, at times I laughed loudly but others I was just too uncomfortable and felt sorry for the people who were tricked into being in the film. As far as the humor goes, it was wildly uneven. Some was extremely funny and on target. Other portions were exceptionally crude and really seemed intended to make idiots laugh.
Sadly, despite being rated R and having LOTS of adult content, kids at the school where I teach saw it in huge numbers. I am NOT one to blame the movie, however, as it made no pretenses about being a family film. It was crude, offensive and very adult and this was not kept a secret when it was marketed. However, parents just didn't bother exercising reasonable judgment and many pre-teens were taken to see a movie I would have been embarrassed to take my teens to see. Bad parenting should not be blamed on Fox Films or Cohen. So my advice is to see it--but DON'T let your kids. It's just too jam-packed full of crudeness. It's definitely an adult guilty pleasure.