Give Sacha Baron Cohen an Oscar!!!

Rating: 10/10 (2 November 2006)

Over the years the Oscar award has been given to an actor or an actress who embodies their role, who become a character and have us convinced in their portrayal. Last year Philip Hoffman had me in complete awe with his mesmerizing portrayal of Capote, his voice, mannerisms, eyes, everything about him was convincing and whats more he held that for the entire film consistently. Other past movie characters that have done the same include Marlon Brando's portrayal of Don Corleone, Al Pacino's Tony Montana and Anothony Hopkin's Hanibal Lector. But what one needs to understand is that these characters were in a controlled environment, not to take away anything from them, but what would happen next and what they would say next was right there for them... and they completely hit it out of the park!! Sacha Cohens character of Borat, one needs to understand, isn't simply a "prankster" or a "funnyman". Sacha Cohen considered a PhD before starting his show, he is cold and calculated in his writing and approach. This is pure satirism, he is, thru Borat, trying to get at the underbelly of the US and pull out a quivering pile of ignorance to show to the world. We laugh at him, we laugh at the jokes he makes, but we question through our laughter. We question the mentality of the American people, and by extension..almost all people.
Holding the character of Borat is a HUGE feat!! the accent, mannerisms, Borat's walk, everything is extremely convincing, so much so that many many many people have fallen victim to him, put down their guards and said some fairly outlandish stuff.
This is wonderful acting, and i pray it is recognized. i know many may not agree with his bashing of the Jewish population (although Cohen is himself Jewish) but we need to understand that he bashes the Jewish population to get a certain reaction, to create a certain familiarity with the people he is with, and that familiarity is shocking...can people actually...agree with Borat? I pray the best actor Oscar goes to Cohen, someone who has so dedicated himself and is so convincing in the role of Borat that we forget that underneath Borat is a British intellectual trying to figure out whats wrong with peoples thinking!! - Harpinder Soomal