Too many stereotypes

Rating: 6/10 (29 November 2006)

Borat (Baron Cohen) is a reporter from Kazakhshtan (pictured as an undeveloped, savage illiterate uneducated country) that goes to the 'US and A' to make a documentary to import some of the greatness of America. The film shows the funny situations from the culture clash.
The way the film is made is quite unorthodox because there are few actors and the main part of characters are people who really think they are talking to a reporter from Kazakhstan, just a candid camera. It is not surprising the huge controversy aroused as some of the people tricked into the 'documentary' have already sued Cohen.
The film is funny. You will sure laugh at one stage or another. But there are many clichés and stereotypes that Cohen uses as he wishes presenting a subjective vision of society. First of all, he could have used a fake country instead of Kazakhstan. It would not been so easy to trick some of the 'victims' into the 'movie film' but the comical effect would have been the same without offending anyone. Just like Molvania from the guys of the hilarious travel guides from Jetlag Tavel (from which I think Cohen gets some of the inspiration).
Then, there is the Jew issue. Although Borat (and all Kazakhstan according to the movie) is afraid of Jews and hates them profoundly, the film is not offensive to Jews at all. Jews pictured in the film are very nice people and the display of hatred against Jewish is so over stated and absurd that the irony is far from subtle. It cannot be any other way as Cohen is a Jew himself. However this is used as excuse: "Look, I'm laughing at me making jokes about Jews... now I am legitimated to laugh at anyone as I wish".
The target of Cohen criticism is clear, the white Christian traditional southern people. He laughs at some evangelists in a church, high class republican southern people, drunk college guys, people attending a Rodeo... using sometimes hidden and sometime obvious insults, always protected by a camera and the "I am from another culture, you should be respectful". Some of the people pictured could be idiots but you can find idiots in every single community in the world. In fact, outside the USA the film has been taken as a opportunity to 'laugh at those stupid Americans'.
Overall it is a really funny movie due to the absurd of the situations described and the hilarious acting of Cohen. Not very elegant and often rude but anus, penis and testicles are also part of humour. However, the rhythm of the movie is a little uneven getting more boring as time goes by making the short 80 minutes of movie a little bit too much.