The Borat
I am embarassed to say that I actually went to see this movie. It is the terrible!! Do not go see it. I implore you. And now, don't go running off to see it just because I said not to either. DON'T! DO! IT! You will be sorry and ashamed and embarassed just like me. There has never been a worse movie made unless you add pron to the mix. It was vile, offensive, and disgusting without any redemptive value whatsoever. It should have received more than an "R" rating. And it was not funny. At all. I know, I know...I'm the one who named Rocky Horror Picture Show as the horror movie I want to take with me to a desert island. Who am I to judge this piece of work? But really, RHPS has a certain historic and musical quality about it. No? Well, maybe it's just the high school memories of throwing toast and shooting water pistols in a movie theatre then. Anyway, Darko warned us not to go see the Borat, but I did not listen. Well, that's not entirely true. My husband was the one who wanted to see it and I did pass along Darko's warning, but we went anyway. The only reason I can offer with any validity whatsoever is that if people are going to be talking about this movie for years to come, I wanted to know what all the fuss (and lawsuits as it turns out) was about. Now, all I can do is rant that this one should never have been released. Just. Awful.The next movie we will pay money to see is going to be Happy Feet, rated PG, for "mild peril." I think I can handle a little mild peril, accompanied by dancing penguins.
posted by Gwynne @ 12:03 PM
11 Comments:
I don't think I would have been curious enough to see it, even after it comes out on DVD, but thanks for the warning. I caught Cohen's act as Ali G a few years ago and thought it was possibly the most un-funny, moronic stuff I'd ever seen. And given some of what I consider hilarious, that's saying something.
Maybe it's like those new ringtones that are only audible to those under 30, because I've read articles about Borat to the effect that Baron-Cohen's style of guerilla comedy is hailed by a lot of the twenty-somethings as being the next big breakthrough in comedic style.
I certainly hope not.
I'm with Foo in not being even curious enough to see it. But I also appreciate the warning (should I temporarily take leave of my senses and decide to give it a try.) Sorry it was so awful!
...the next big breakthrough in comedic style.
Foo, I pray that's not what's happening because if it is, we might as well blow the world up right now. Like you, neither does my sense of humor set the "good taste" bar out of reach (The Holy Grail and RHPS are very distasteful by the standards of many good and decent people). But you said it, this is moronic. Bleh.
Beth, I knew going in that I wasn't going to like it, but because I try to be a "good wife," went along with my husband's request. I tried the pleas, "How about Casino Royale, the new old Bond movie, sure to have a sexy young bombshell in it somewhere? How about Happy Feet, about the cute little dancing penguin?" Shows you how well my husband trusts my judgement. ;-) Okay, now I'm deflecting the blame, aren't I? I think I'll start a class action suit to represent all movie-goers who were duped into seeing this piece of garbage. Yeah, I knew better. I've got no one to blame but myself.
Hey Gwynne,
Just interested. What was your husband's opinion of the film? The one thing that I didn't talk about as regards "Borat" was how ticked I was at how he clubbed (at least) two nations at once. All of the village shots were done in Romania, a country that has as little to do with Kazakhstan as, say Croatia or Austria, have to with either. If you go here, you'll see that if Cohen ever makes it back to Romania, he'd better be packing some heat.
As you mentioned, this movie is generating some serious legal problems and that part of the story will get very interesting.
If you do the Netflix thing, one movie, a very small movie, that I held onto for a long time as I played it whenever I got lonesome for the homeland was What Iva Recorded. Minimal action. Minimal conflict. This movie does it for me because all of the characters speak Zagrebacki, the Croatian dialect in Zagreb. A simple film with an excellent dialogue. Highly recommended.
My husband's opinion was not all that different from my own, but as regards the portrayal of the villagers, he was surprisingly not offended. When I asked him about that, he said that's really how the folks in the small villages of many Eastern European nations live. But why not film it in say, Kazakhstan? Agreed, Romania is to Kazakhstan as Austria is to Croatia. He thinks their real beef is with the context.
Oh, and thanks for the movie suggestion. We'll look for it. Is it subtitled in English? I'm sorry to say I'm lousy at learning languages and even after 16 years, have learned little more than how to greet my family in Hrvatski. ;-)
very interesting! i'll be checking into this further..
Mild peril? Heehee. My friend just gave me two free movie tickets for any show. Maybe I'll go watch the dancing penguins. I wonder if there is anything else better showing now though. Sorry about the Borat, but you are a good wife *pats back* :)
Yeah, I cracked up over the "mild peril" also. Too funny. :-) It really is getting good reviews and I loved March of the Penguins.
This under 30 year old had no desire to see it :). Maybe it's just that I've only got another year and a couple of days before I consider myself no longer in my 20's hehe. I'm not sure about the penguins or for that matter james bond but I'll be holding out for your review :).
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