Sacha Baron Cohen breaks character for one brief glance at the camera while standing behind the Jewish B&B couple, as if to say, "How far should I push this joke?" It's a question with which he's been wrestling since the inception of the character. The couple is completely oblivious, but we are just waiting for the inevitable culture clash. Cohen seems to thrust himself into loaded situations, leaving no choice but to follow through while staying in character. What would Borat do?
He certainly pushes it quite far. Singing the Kazakhi National Anthem to the rodeo crowd takes the cake. It was like a challenge to see which culture he could better defile. I'm surprised he wasn't lynched. The outrageous nudity and the Pamela Anderson scene, though, departed from the more subtle comedy of cultural subversion popularized in Da Ali G show, and bordered on Jackass. Still funny, though.
In essence, that's what happened with the film. I'm usually one to point out missed opportunities, especially when I see what great potential the opportunities hold, but in this case I'm letting it slide. Where Borat could have been an incredibly poignant and fresh means of advancing a clear universal message about cultural values and intolerance, instead it succumbs to the silliness and slapstick genius of its creator and star. It's not a political film, but it's a damn good comedy.
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