Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Jagshemash Plus 1

Sacha Baron Cohen’s character Borat is now so well known that Americans recognize him on the street so it is increasingly difficult for him to pull stunts. His kind of semi-documentary humor is not an easy premise to sustain but as Baron Cohen demonstrates, there will always be people who deserve to be mocked. This time, Cohen has to create other characters with elaborate costumes (which look too cumbersome, and therefore aren’t as funny) and introduces Borat’s 15 year-old daughter Tutar (the extraordinary Maria Bakalova) in order to continue lampooning American idiots. Tutar allows Baron Cohen to delve into the theme of misogyny, which is organically intertwined into the theme of Republicans and Trumpers. He has a field day.

Baron Cohen is a comedic polyglot. He is good at satire, slapstick, physical comedy, verbal wit, sight gags, improv. I laugh hardest at the silliest stuff, the many comedic nuggets inside and in between the big set pieces, like Borat’s retrograde obliviousness and his hilarious malapropisms. As long as he is punching up, I have no problem with him setting up powerful assholes for ridicule (see: Giuliani, Rudolph). But I feel uncomfortable when he punches down, even when the people are so benighted that they kind of deserve it. They are easy marks.