Borat vs. The World!

"I have come to great nation of America to make Mel Gibson look like Golda Meir. He will be biggest fan of Borat in world."

Not only have we officially declared Borat the undeniable funniest film of the year - it just isn't scientifically possible that a movie will be funnier. Even more amusing is the international incident it has brought about. To wit, the President/Ruler of Khazakstan is outraged at Sasha Baron Cohen's brilliant portrayal of the bumbling Khazak correspondant Borat. An ordinary Khazak citizen who french kisses his sister who is a prostitute, keeps his battle axe of a wife in a cage and packs a chicken in his suitcase for the trip to America. Since the premiere of Borat - Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is still a ways off you may read more by going to 2006 movie reviews and do the alphabetical thing. We caught it at Comicon and by the time it was over I was so laughed-out that I walked with a noticeable limp and passed urine in my blood. Ghastly business, now I know what it means to almost die laughing.

It will be funny to see Bush paint on his consternation face for the visit. The irony of the entire affair is that the film isn't about making fun of Khazakstan, it's about exposing the bigotry and hypocricy of Americans. Tyler Sanders referred to Borat as cultural litmus paper, and most fascinating is how he draws out everyone's true colors regardless where they might be on the socio-economic ladder. The good news is it doesn't really tell us anything a smart person doesn't already suspect about people and it is as funny a movie as I've ever seen. Trying to think of a funnier movie requires hours on imdb. Yesterday I watched a screening of Factotem and while I waited for Adam to finish with the Outkast movie I watched a half hour of Ricky Bobby and I wasn't that impressed with Cohen's as Will Farrell's French racing nemesis. But mark my words, Borat will lay you out flat - that's a promise, I can't wait to see it again.

The irony of all this political displeasure is that it's only going to pique the curiosity of people who probably would have never gone to see Borat - guaranteeing it a broader audience and a longer run. I have no compunction whatsoever by predicting that, Borat will be the film 2006 will be remembered for. Stay tuned.