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Movies / On DVD / Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

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Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

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Reviews Counted:204

Fresh:186

Rotten:18

Average Rating:8/10

Consensus: Jagshemash! Borat gets high-fives almost all-around for being offensive in the funniest possible way. Part satire, part shockumentary, Borat stars Sacha Baron Cohen as the gleefully sexist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic title character on a cross-country trek to learn more about our strange nation; along the way he dredges up the seamy underbelly of American prejudice and ignorance. Now the cat is out of the bag, what will Cohen do for an encore?

Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for pervasive strong crude and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language

Runtime: 86 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:02-11-2006

Synopsis: Jagshemash! Sacha Baron Cohen, the star and creator of HBO's "Da Ali G Show," brings his Kazakh journalist character Borat Sagdiyev to the big screen for the first time. Leaving his native... Jagshemash! Sacha Baron Cohen, the star and creator of HBO's "Da Ali G Show," brings his Kazakh journalist character Borat Sagdiyev to the big screen for the first time. Leaving his native Kazakhstan, Borat travels to America to make a documentary. As he zigzags across the nation, Borat meets real people in real situations with hysterical consequences. His backwards behavior generates strong reactions around him, exposing prejudices and hypocrisies in American culture. In some cases, Borat's interview subjects embrace his outrageous views on race and sex by agreeing with him, while others attempt to offer a patriotic lesson in Western values. Wa-wa-wee-wa! Hilarious. Jaw-dropping. Inflammatory. Dangerous. Subversive. Borat, a satirical Kazakh journalist caricature invented and portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen, has been called all this – and more. Borat became a phenomenon in the U.K. with the comedy series "Da Ali G Show," in which Baron Cohen's outlandish humor and razor-sharp satire on anti-Semitism, misogyny and racism, came to life through his creation's bizarre behavior and interviews. Baron Cohen's innovative and unique work has brought him two BAFTA awards. "Da Ali G Show" was a worldwide phenomenon, and Baron Cohen is the only person to twice host the European MTV Awards. Dictionaries added two words based on his characters' "inventive" use of the English language, and even the Queen Mother was a fan. In addition, Baron Cohen received critical plaudits for his role opposite Will Ferrell in this summer's blockbuster comedy "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." Also, Baron Cohen was the voice of the King of the Lemurs in "Madagascar." Even before its release, critics heralded BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN as one of the funniest pictures of all time, and it became the highest-rated comedy on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB.com). The film's humor and acclaim stem from its comedy "dream team": Sacha Baron Cohen, Larry Charles from "Seinfeld" and Jay Roach, director of the "Austin Powers" films. Baron Cohen and Roach are the film's producers, with Charles serving as director. The production of BORAT – as one might expect about a project centered on the character – was unlike any other. Baron Cohen, whose commitment to the role is unwaveringly intense, stayed in character through the shooting, and elected to conduct publicity and interviews promoting the picture, as Borat. --© 20th Century Fox [More]

Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Pamela Anderson, Ken Davitian

Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Pamela Anderson, Ken Davitian

Director: Larry Charles

Director: Larry Charles
Producer: Jay Roach
Studio: 20th Century Fox

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Reviews for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make...

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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Reviewer is disappointed!

Full Review Source: BBC | comment 31 Comments
10/28/06
Paul Arendt
Paul Arendt
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The more I think about the film, the less amusing it becomes.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment 3 Comments
10/28/06
Jason Solomons
Jason Solomons
Observer [UK]

Sacha Baron Cohen is one of this country’s funniest performers, and the biggest pleasures of Borat lie in simply watching him goof off, and in watching 'real' people’s incredulity as he does so.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
10/28/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Absurd, outrageous, gross, disturbing, insightful, and so funny it’ll burst half the blood vessels in your face.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
10/30/06
Dan Jolin
Dan Jolin
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The funniest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
11/03/06
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Borat is the funniest film imaginable right now.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/18/08
Matthew De Abaitua
Matthew De Abaitua
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sacha Baron Cohen's riotous comedy is guaranteed to offend almost everyone, but it's also genuinely hilarious from start to finish. Jagshemash!

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
11/02/06
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Spasmodically funny.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
01/20/07
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

While this film will indeed insult almost everyone, it's also genuinely hilarious.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
10/18/06
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Cohen's mix of ineptitude and laziness propels this to become one of the worst comedies in recent memory.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment 60 Comments
11/07/06
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

It's offensively funny in places but it can't sustain itself for a feature length running time and it's not nearly as clever or as fun as it should be.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment 40 Comments
11/02/06
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Politically reactionary: the satire attacks the kind, the vulnerable, the 'little guy,' not the more appropriate satiric targets, namely the rich, the powerful, the corrupt.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment 34 Comments
10/27/06
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

It's sad that anyone can claim brilliance to this unoriginal one-joke character.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment 30 Comments
11/03/06
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

There are a lot of blue state folks who are offended by Cohen's portrayal of Kazakhstan as a backwards country of idiots. Hopefully, Cohen will find a way to make fun of these fun-hating cretins in his next picture

Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment 13 Comments
09/28/06
Jon Popick
Jon Popick
Planet Sick-Boy

Hold the hyperbole...isn't a work of genius, just a cable comedy sketch with some sharply funny bits but overextended, needlessly crude and ultimately...smug.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment 10 Comments
11/02/06
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Great satire, perhaps, but remarkably painful.

Full Review Source: Norman Transcript | comment 10 Comments
11/10/06
Jim Chastain
Jim Chastain
Norman Transcript

... the male-oriented humor in this movie goes right in the toilet, literally, and never recovers.

Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment 9 Comments
11/10/06
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

Is Borat the funniest comedy of the year? Almost certainly -- but what's the competition?

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment 7 Comments
10/30/06
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

After a while, the gaggle of idiots, creeps and stuffed shirts Borat comes in contact with becomes repetitive.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment 7 Comments
12/01/06
Lewis Beale
Lewis Beale
Film Journal International

Candid Camera crossed with Jackass ... Candidly, Cohen can be a politically incorrect laugh riot, but he's often just lewd and crude, comrade.

Full Review Source: Boulder Weekly | comment 7 Comments
11/07/06
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly
 
 
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Latest News for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America...

June 18, 2008: Bruno Gets a Release Date Opens in new window
Universal has found a spot for Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno on the release schedule, slotting it against Angels & Demons on May 15, 2009. More...

April 07, 2008: Bill Maher Gets A Religulous New Poster Opens in new window
Noted politically incorrect television host and out of the closet atheist Bill Maher may be the new Borat. Or something like it. He's making a movie with Larry Charles, one of... More...

March 31, 2008: Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno Goes to Kansas
Just a few short years after baffling and enraging Middle Americans with Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen is back...as Bruno. More...

March 04, 2008: Rush Hour 3 Takes '07 DVD Rental Crown
It may not have been quite the box-office phenomenon that its predecessors were -- and critics may have disliked it enough to keep it down at 20 percent on the Tomatometer --... More...

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