Great Success: Sidesplitting Social Satire

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2020)

The uproarious "Borat" joyously holds humanity's most cringe-worthy attributes to the sublime ridicule of its Kazakhstani namesake. A distant but surefire descendent of "Blazing Saddles (1974)," its elevated vulgarity paired with whip-smart social commentary make this one of film's most important satires, and one which can claim deadbeat parentage over modern parodies from "Sausage Party (2016)" to recent and raunchy record label spoof "Stadium Anthems (2018)."
The remarkable Sasha Baron Cohen is Borat, a Kazakhstani TV reporter sent to America to report on its greatness. In New York, exposure to a "Baywatch" episode leads to a Pamela Anderson obsession, and an ensuing cross-country trek to make the blonde icon his wife. Arguably, the most glorious aspiration of "Borat" rests in the fact that Baron Cohen's character is one of the few that isn't a real person: It's a brilliant and seamless commingling with reality programming as Borat engages with unsuspecting real-life Americans on his journey to secure the lovely Pamela.
By speaking things once unspeakable and revealing their inherent outrageousness in grand and hilarious style, "Borat" sits in mustached greatness in the throne room of parodies, spoofs, and satires. Mandatory viewing. - (Was this review of use to you? If so, let me know by clicking "Helpful." Cheers!)
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WATCHED THIS? THEN WATCHLIST:
"Blazing Saddles (1974),"
"Sausage Party (2016),"
"Stadium Anthems (2018)."