Even faux-Kazakh alter egos get the blues. This latest bit of meta-promotion for Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen’s scathing mockumentary of American mores, is a "press conference," staged by Fox — and if those quotation marks look a little droopy, it’s because all the in-character irony seems to be grinding down the man inside just a tad. The bit is plenty funny, but you can see ol’ Borat (or more accurately, an exhausted Cohen) getting a little sick of both the prewritten material and the journalists taking weak stabs at it.
That said, I dare you to keep a straight face as Borat lauds "anti-Jew warrior Melvin Gibson," agreeing with the actor-director’s position that the Jews were "responsible for killing off all the dinosaurs." Among Borat’s favorite movies? "Sex-comedy The Accused." These laughs and more await, if you’re willing to ride out some bad buffering (no doubt caused by tiny "cyberJews").
Cohen’s not the only person getting a little tired of Borat.
That reminds me, when is the Ali G show coming back to HBO? I thought the interviews with Buzz Aldrin (“Thank you Buzz Lightyear”) and Newt Gingrich (‘uh, how do you spell your name?”) were too funny. On that note, how did Gingrich, a former speaker of the House, not notice that he was being hoodwinked TWICE by the same actor? I’ll grat him the Ali G interview, but by Borat he should have known better…
Up next, I will play an indian dude from Bolivia who travels throughout America and who makes fun of Latinos with a bad accent. Think Gingrich will grant me an interview?
With Borat, Tenacious D and For Your Consideration, this fall is shaping up to be one hell of a good season for comedies.
This movie is so good. I saw it a few months back. I don’t think I ever laughed so hard during a movie.
I’d give Cohen a break. If you knew – not just suspected, knew – that you’d never be able to play a character again, then you’d promote it tirelessly, too.
Everyone will know who Borat is after this is finally released, destroying the element of surprise required to hoodwink the unsuspecting.