Borat make big disappointment

Rating: 2/10 (16 November 2006)

I had very high expectations for this film. Many of my friends have seen it and loved it, and I'm not at all offended by racist, sexist, and crude humor -- hell, I own a copy of "Team America: World Police." I knew I would probably not be offended by "Borat," but I truly did not expect to be bored. Halfway through I found myself looking at my watch, wishing I would have spent my $10 and two hours on something, anything (well, almost!) else. "Borat" is the same joke over and over and over again -- the same set-up with slightly different people. Yes, Mr. Cohen, I see how Americans can be racist, sexist, ignorant, homophobic "ass hole." I see how by pretending to be an anti-semitic, naive, uneducated reporter from a backwards country whose name most Americans can't even pronounce, you induce your interview subjects to reveal their own prejudices.
So what?
The fact is, I've seen this done many times before -- to much greater effect and without the blatant mean-spiritedness demonstrated in almost every frame of the film. Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles," Steve Martin's "The Jerk," almost any Monty Python flick, and the real documentaries "Bowling for Columbine" and "Roger & Me" -- all of these comedies attack the same serious social issues with blunt-force trauma. All of them "make fun" of prejudice, thereby forcing the audience to recognize their own prejudices. All of the above-mentioned films artfully and interestingly expose the underbelly of American society. Borat, however, is a second-rate Latka from "Taxi" -- an unfunny, repetitive Tony Clifton with a funny accent. We've seen it before, Mr. Cohen, and we've seen it better. If you're going to tackle such important subject matter, have something interesting to say about the subject.