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To say that "Borat fever" has swept the world would be an understatement - the film has recieved astronomical amounts of hype and praise from critics, many citing it as "one of the funniest films ever made". This immediately lit my inner cynic within, but I was also curious to see what Sasha Baron Cohen could pull out of his hat.
I enjoyed Ali G (despite the film being a "so bad it's good" film, in my opinion), and I thought Borat wasn't too bad, but I never really understood why people practically died in fits of laughter when watching it. Yeah, the guy puts on a "funny" accent, and yes, he makes people look like fools, but is it really as witty or as clever as, say, Red Dwarf, Blackadder or Fawlty Towers?
My initial answer would be "no", but alas, I tried to go into Borat with an open mind, and whilst I enjoyed it, I didn't come out with tears of joy streaming down my face. Rather, I was in fact quite disappointed. For a film that's currently placed in IMDB's Top 250 films of all time, I was expecting a lot more than what I garnered from it. Considering films like Clerks (which I found infinitely more hilarious than Borat) didn't even make it into the Top 250, I thought it pretty criminal that this film made it in there.
Regardless of IMDB scores, my expectations were that, yes, the film would have a degree of "silly" humour, but it would have some sort of underlying theme. Whilst there was in a sense one, it wasn't as intelligent as I expecting, but to be honest, I think my expectations were entirely inappropriate for a film of this sort. Also, the fact that Larry Charles was at the director's helm (having directed the brilliant Curb Your Enthusiasm TV series) gave me high hopes for this being an incredibly funny film.
The first five or ten minutes practically take the trailer and extend it out, so the humour of this was diminished somewhat after having seen the trailer a few times. Still, the writing here was pretty sharp, and Borat's time in Kazakhstan before heading to "the US and A" was probably my favourite part of the film. What followed, I by and large found only mildly amusing, yet my cinema was full of people cracking up. I really, honestly tried to enjoy the film as much as possible, but forcing laughter on something I didn't honestly find hilarious is not something I'll do. I'm obviously speculating, but it seemed like some people were laughing at every other word he said purely because of his accent, something I found funny for a brief period when I originally saw Borat on TV.
That said, there were a few moments that I really, really liked, and they really improved my opinion of the film a lot. Some of the more, let's say, offensive humour I quite enjoyed, as it was pushing the bar about as far as it's been pushed in such a mainstream setting. Some of it was edging on being just downright offensive without being funny, but Cohen never quite teetered over the edge. One remark he made about a certain part of Pamela Anderson's body in relation to that of a small child had me laughing for about half a minute, much to the chargrin of my friends I saw the film with.
Also, the famous "naked fight", whilst absolutely purile in every sense of the word, was very memorable. Thankfully, the wealth of male genitalia on display was often censored, but alas, there were many more times where it was on full display. Credit is due to Cohen, though, for getting so down and dirty with a fat, obese guy. The naked fight spills out into some sort of meeting, where many people are sitting, and the fact that this looks so un-staged is also rather impressive.
On this point, I'd read before seeing the film that some of the segments were staged, and some of them were actually real. Upon seeing a scene where Borat "accidentally" unleashes a chicken inside a train, I presumed that because it was shot with a hidden camera, that it wasn't staged, and that everything shot with a "filmic" camera would thereby be staged. However, upon thinking about it, I'm not so sure. Some of the stuff shot with a filmic camera is incredibly convincing, and whilst I know that some scenes (such as the Pamela Anderson kidknapping) were staged, Cohen still makes them feel incredibly authentic, so again, credit is due there.
I wrote earlier of an underlying theme, and this is pretty clearly presented to the viewers - Borat basically attempts to paint a picture of some of the more questionable areas of American culture, but he compliments this with people such as the driving instructor, showing that not all Americans are bigots. There's also a degree of irony in people criticising Cohen for making fun of Jews, considering that he's one himself. To say that Cohen had his bases covered is a colossal understatement.
So, to conclude, this isn't a hatemongering thread or my attempt to be "different" by not loving the film, but yes, I felt that whilst amusing, the film was massively overrated. As is the problem with films that recieve a large amount of hype, they often don't live up to a person's expectations, as is the case here. I didn't feel it was bad or lacking in any respect at all, but I merely felt it was a moderately enjoyable comedy rather than something that will shake the foundations of the cinematic world. At least it's original, though, I'll give them that - it's nice to see a change from the slew of uninspired comedies that flood our multiplexes these days.
Thanks for reading,
Reefer
I enjoyed Ali G (despite the film being a "so bad it's good" film, in my opinion), and I thought Borat wasn't too bad, but I never really understood why people practically died in fits of laughter when watching it. Yeah, the guy puts on a "funny" accent, and yes, he makes people look like fools, but is it really as witty or as clever as, say, Red Dwarf, Blackadder or Fawlty Towers?
My initial answer would be "no", but alas, I tried to go into Borat with an open mind, and whilst I enjoyed it, I didn't come out with tears of joy streaming down my face. Rather, I was in fact quite disappointed. For a film that's currently placed in IMDB's Top 250 films of all time, I was expecting a lot more than what I garnered from it. Considering films like Clerks (which I found infinitely more hilarious than Borat) didn't even make it into the Top 250, I thought it pretty criminal that this film made it in there.
Regardless of IMDB scores, my expectations were that, yes, the film would have a degree of "silly" humour, but it would have some sort of underlying theme. Whilst there was in a sense one, it wasn't as intelligent as I expecting, but to be honest, I think my expectations were entirely inappropriate for a film of this sort. Also, the fact that Larry Charles was at the director's helm (having directed the brilliant Curb Your Enthusiasm TV series) gave me high hopes for this being an incredibly funny film.
The first five or ten minutes practically take the trailer and extend it out, so the humour of this was diminished somewhat after having seen the trailer a few times. Still, the writing here was pretty sharp, and Borat's time in Kazakhstan before heading to "the US and A" was probably my favourite part of the film. What followed, I by and large found only mildly amusing, yet my cinema was full of people cracking up. I really, honestly tried to enjoy the film as much as possible, but forcing laughter on something I didn't honestly find hilarious is not something I'll do. I'm obviously speculating, but it seemed like some people were laughing at every other word he said purely because of his accent, something I found funny for a brief period when I originally saw Borat on TV.
That said, there were a few moments that I really, really liked, and they really improved my opinion of the film a lot. Some of the more, let's say, offensive humour I quite enjoyed, as it was pushing the bar about as far as it's been pushed in such a mainstream setting. Some of it was edging on being just downright offensive without being funny, but Cohen never quite teetered over the edge. One remark he made about a certain part of Pamela Anderson's body in relation to that of a small child had me laughing for about half a minute, much to the chargrin of my friends I saw the film with.
Also, the famous "naked fight", whilst absolutely purile in every sense of the word, was very memorable. Thankfully, the wealth of male genitalia on display was often censored, but alas, there were many more times where it was on full display. Credit is due to Cohen, though, for getting so down and dirty with a fat, obese guy. The naked fight spills out into some sort of meeting, where many people are sitting, and the fact that this looks so un-staged is also rather impressive.
On this point, I'd read before seeing the film that some of the segments were staged, and some of them were actually real. Upon seeing a scene where Borat "accidentally" unleashes a chicken inside a train, I presumed that because it was shot with a hidden camera, that it wasn't staged, and that everything shot with a "filmic" camera would thereby be staged. However, upon thinking about it, I'm not so sure. Some of the stuff shot with a filmic camera is incredibly convincing, and whilst I know that some scenes (such as the Pamela Anderson kidknapping) were staged, Cohen still makes them feel incredibly authentic, so again, credit is due there.
I wrote earlier of an underlying theme, and this is pretty clearly presented to the viewers - Borat basically attempts to paint a picture of some of the more questionable areas of American culture, but he compliments this with people such as the driving instructor, showing that not all Americans are bigots. There's also a degree of irony in people criticising Cohen for making fun of Jews, considering that he's one himself. To say that Cohen had his bases covered is a colossal understatement.
So, to conclude, this isn't a hatemongering thread or my attempt to be "different" by not loving the film, but yes, I felt that whilst amusing, the film was massively overrated. As is the problem with films that recieve a large amount of hype, they often don't live up to a person's expectations, as is the case here. I didn't feel it was bad or lacking in any respect at all, but I merely felt it was a moderately enjoyable comedy rather than something that will shake the foundations of the cinematic world. At least it's original, though, I'll give them that - it's nice to see a change from the slew of uninspired comedies that flood our multiplexes these days.
Thanks for reading,
Reefer
Hahaha.
"The jews have shapeshifted"
"The jews have shapeshifted"
To say that "Borat fever" has swept the world would be an understatement - the film has recieved astronomical amounts of hype and praise from critics, many citing it as "one of the funniest films ever made". This immediately lit my inner cynic within, but I was also curious to see what Sasha Baron Cohen could pull out of his hat.
I enjoyed Ali G (despite the film being a "so bad it's good" film, in my opinion), and I thought Borat wasn't too bad, but I never really understood why people practically died in fits of laughter when watching it. Yeah, the guy puts on a "funny" accent, and yes, he makes people look like fools, but is it really as witty or as clever as, say, Red Dwarf, Blackadder or Fawlty Towers?
My initial answer would be "no", but alas, I tried to go into Borat with an open mind, and whilst I enjoyed it, I didn't come out with tears of joy streaming down my face. Rather, I was in fact quite disappointed. For a film that's currently placed in IMDB's Top 250 films of all time, I was expecting a lot more than what I garnered from it. Considering films like Clerks (which I found infinitely more hilarious than Borat) didn't even make it into the Top 250, I thought it pretty criminal that this film made it in there.
Regardless of IMDB scores, my expectations were that, yes, the film would have a degree of "silly" humour, but it would have some sort of underlying theme. Whilst there was in a sense one, it wasn't as intelligent as I expecting, but to be honest, I think my expectations were entirely inappropriate for a film of this sort. Also, the fact that Larry Charles was at the director's helm (having directed the brilliant Curb Your Enthusiasm TV series) gave me high hopes for this being an incredibly funny film.
The first five or ten minutes practically take the trailer and extend it out, so the humour of this was diminished somewhat after having seen the trailer a few times. Still, the writing here was pretty sharp, and Borat's time in Kazakhstan before heading to "the US and A" was probably my favourite part of the film. What followed, I by and large found only mildly amusing, yet my cinema was full of people cracking up. I really, honestly tried to enjoy the film as much as possible, but forcing laughter on something I didn't honestly find hilarious is not something I'll do. I'm obviously speculating, but it seemed like some people were laughing at every other word he said purely because of his accent, something I found funny for a brief period when I originally saw Borat on TV.
That said, there were a few moments that I really, really liked, and they really improved my opinion of the film a lot. Some of the more, let's say, offensive humour I quite enjoyed, as it was pushing the bar about as far as it's been pushed in such a mainstream setting. Some of it was edging on being just downright offensive without being funny, but Cohen never quite teetered over the edge. One remark he made about a certain part of Pamela Anderson's body in relation to that of a small child had me laughing for about half a minute, much to the chargrin of my friends I saw the film with.
Also, the famous "naked fight", whilst absolutely purile in every sense of the word, was very memorable. Thankfully, the wealth of male genitalia on display was often censored, but alas, there were many more times where it was on full display. Credit is due to Cohen, though, for getting so down and dirty with a fat, obese guy. The naked fight spills out into some sort of meeting, where many people are sitting, and the fact that this looks so un-staged is also rather impressive.
On this point, I'd read before seeing the film that some of the segments were staged, and some of them were actually real. Upon seeing a scene where Borat "accidentally" unleashes a chicken inside a train, I presumed that because it was shot with a hidden camera, that it wasn't staged, and that everything shot with a "filmic" camera would thereby be staged. However, upon thinking about it, I'm not so sure. Some of the stuff shot with a filmic camera is incredibly convincing, and whilst I know that some scenes (such as the Pamela Anderson kidknapping) were staged, Cohen still makes them feel incredibly authentic, so again, credit is due there.
I wrote earlier of an underlying theme, and this is pretty clearly presented to the viewers - Borat basically attempts to paint a picture of some of the more questionable areas of American culture, but he compliments this with people such as the driving instructor, showing that not all Americans are bigots. There's also a degree of irony in people criticising Cohen for making fun of Jews, considering that he's one himself. To say that Cohen had his bases covered is a colossal understatement.
So, to conclude, this isn't a hatemongering thread or my attempt to be "different" by not loving the film, but yes, I felt that whilst amusing, the film was massively overrated. As is the problem with films that recieve a large amount of hype, they often don't live up to a person's expectations, as is the case here. I didn't feel it was bad or lacking in any respect at all, but I merely felt it was a moderately enjoyable comedy rather than something that will shake the foundations of the cinematic world. At least it's original, though, I'll give them that - it's nice to see a change from the slew of uninspired comedies that flood our multiplexes these days.
Thanks for reading,
Reefer
I enjoyed Ali G (despite the film being a "so bad it's good" film, in my opinion), and I thought Borat wasn't too bad, but I never really understood why people practically died in fits of laughter when watching it. Yeah, the guy puts on a "funny" accent, and yes, he makes people look like fools, but is it really as witty or as clever as, say, Red Dwarf, Blackadder or Fawlty Towers?
My initial answer would be "no", but alas, I tried to go into Borat with an open mind, and whilst I enjoyed it, I didn't come out with tears of joy streaming down my face. Rather, I was in fact quite disappointed. For a film that's currently placed in IMDB's Top 250 films of all time, I was expecting a lot more than what I garnered from it. Considering films like Clerks (which I found infinitely more hilarious than Borat) didn't even make it into the Top 250, I thought it pretty criminal that this film made it in there.
Regardless of IMDB scores, my expectations were that, yes, the film would have a degree of "silly" humour, but it would have some sort of underlying theme. Whilst there was in a sense one, it wasn't as intelligent as I expecting, but to be honest, I think my expectations were entirely inappropriate for a film of this sort. Also, the fact that Larry Charles was at the director's helm (having directed the brilliant Curb Your Enthusiasm TV series) gave me high hopes for this being an incredibly funny film.
The first five or ten minutes practically take the trailer and extend it out, so the humour of this was diminished somewhat after having seen the trailer a few times. Still, the writing here was pretty sharp, and Borat's time in Kazakhstan before heading to "the US and A" was probably my favourite part of the film. What followed, I by and large found only mildly amusing, yet my cinema was full of people cracking up. I really, honestly tried to enjoy the film as much as possible, but forcing laughter on something I didn't honestly find hilarious is not something I'll do. I'm obviously speculating, but it seemed like some people were laughing at every other word he said purely because of his accent, something I found funny for a brief period when I originally saw Borat on TV.
That said, there were a few moments that I really, really liked, and they really improved my opinion of the film a lot. Some of the more, let's say, offensive humour I quite enjoyed, as it was pushing the bar about as far as it's been pushed in such a mainstream setting. Some of it was edging on being just downright offensive without being funny, but Cohen never quite teetered over the edge. One remark he made about a certain part of Pamela Anderson's body in relation to that of a small child had me laughing for about half a minute, much to the chargrin of my friends I saw the film with.
Also, the famous "naked fight", whilst absolutely purile in every sense of the word, was very memorable. Thankfully, the wealth of male genitalia on display was often censored, but alas, there were many more times where it was on full display. Credit is due to Cohen, though, for getting so down and dirty with a fat, obese guy. The naked fight spills out into some sort of meeting, where many people are sitting, and the fact that this looks so un-staged is also rather impressive.
On this point, I'd read before seeing the film that some of the segments were staged, and some of them were actually real. Upon seeing a scene where Borat "accidentally" unleashes a chicken inside a train, I presumed that because it was shot with a hidden camera, that it wasn't staged, and that everything shot with a "filmic" camera would thereby be staged. However, upon thinking about it, I'm not so sure. Some of the stuff shot with a filmic camera is incredibly convincing, and whilst I know that some scenes (such as the Pamela Anderson kidknapping) were staged, Cohen still makes them feel incredibly authentic, so again, credit is due there.
I wrote earlier of an underlying theme, and this is pretty clearly presented to the viewers - Borat basically attempts to paint a picture of some of the more questionable areas of American culture, but he compliments this with people such as the driving instructor, showing that not all Americans are bigots. There's also a degree of irony in people criticising Cohen for making fun of Jews, considering that he's one himself. To say that Cohen had his bases covered is a colossal understatement.
So, to conclude, this isn't a hatemongering thread or my attempt to be "different" by not loving the film, but yes, I felt that whilst amusing, the film was massively overrated. As is the problem with films that recieve a large amount of hype, they often don't live up to a person's expectations, as is the case here. I didn't feel it was bad or lacking in any respect at all, but I merely felt it was a moderately enjoyable comedy rather than something that will shake the foundations of the cinematic world. At least it's original, though, I'll give them that - it's nice to see a change from the slew of uninspired comedies that flood our multiplexes these days.
Thanks for reading,
Reefer