Pathetic

Rating: 3/10 (10 November 2007)

I'd read a series of reviews that claimed that this was the funniest film ever. I'd heard stories of people collapsing their lungs laughing in the cinema. The blurb on the front cover from magazines I respect told me to expect a laugh riot. I'm wondering how any of these stories happened - this film is a pathetic childish mess.
There were three scenes I enjoyed in this film - the rodeo scene, the camper van scene (both exposed ignorance, which is what the film should have concentrated on), and the kidnapping scene at the end (very funny). However, in between these good moments, we are subjected to sub-Farrelly humour. Naked wrestling around a hotel? Hilarious. An endless series of jokes on masturbation? My sides, they're splitting. Carrying your faeces into a dinner party? And so on. I understand that the point of the film was to highlight ignorance, racism and fear of foreigners. Why the film felt it necessary to embarrass a dinner party but carrying a bag of faeces to the table and invite a prostitute to the table, I will never know. I get a feeling I don't want to.
As with Ali G, Baran Cohen has proved that he cannot carry a character for more than 5 minutes. I'm hoping this will see the end of him and his 'wacky' characters, but experience and a sizable box office makes this unlikely. Please avoid this dismal rubbish.