Movie Review: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

 

14 years ago, America got blindsided by the comedic tornado that is Sacha Baron Cohen when Borat hit theaters and turned into a smash hit against all odds. After its surprise breakout box office run, the polarizing British comedian said he was going to retire the character since it was unlikely he could go undetected to do the type of bits that were featured in the movie and on the HBO series Da Ali G Show-where the bumbling, openly prejudiced Kazakh journalist originated-ever again. The Trump presidency forced Baron Cohen to change his mind and dust off the fake moustache/cheap, dirty suit for another round of vulgar, incendiary pranks pulled on unsuspecting people all around the United States. This discreetly-made revival project just hit Amazon Prime in the shadow of the 2020 election and I'm thrilled to report that Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is another fearless comedic home run from Baron Cohen.

A combination of assembling material in a different era where racism is significantly more overt and the difficulties of trying to stage bits when the character is so well known made forced Baron Cohen to change the approach a bit with Subsequent Moviefilm. There's a greater focus on the scripted narrative as the loose plot driving the bits largely surrounds Borat trying to give away his teenage daughter (Maria Bakalova-who matches every ounce of Baron Cohen's ace timing and fearless commitment) to someone from the Trump administration features about 15-20 minutes worth of scenes with no real world crossover and a decent chunk of the gags either extensively reference or are solely aimed at right wing groups. 

Unsurprisingly, scaling back the guerilla elements and having more pointed targets does not effect the quality of the comedy in the slightest. There are several scenes here that go toe to toe with the shock value/hilarity of the finest moments from the original (Nude Wrestling Match, The Car Dealership scene, The Dinner Scene) and even with more gags at the expense of Republicans, the film does a terrific job of maintaining its purely silly jokes/unfiltered window into America's shameless, extensive bigotry balancing act. The fact that Baron Cohen was not only able to pull this off during a pandemic, but reframe the entire film to make it a focal point (it started production late last year and it's not particularly difficult to notice that roughly half of it was in the can before the lockdown started in mid-March) only makes it even more impressive.

While it's never as damning or outrageous as Baron Cohen's other Trump-era project Who is America?, Subsequent Moviefilm's ability to point out and laugh at America's deep-rooted bigotry makes it a  comedic powerhouse. Borat is a character that couldn't possibly be better suited for this moment and although the odds of this movie opening a lot of eyes aren't high, putting it out on a platform where the masses can see it right before an election that is going to be a shitshow regardless of outcome was a great move that should at the very least provide some sort of much-needed relief from the dreary situation the United States is currently in. Or to put in terms that Borat himself would enthusiastically use: Subsequent Moviefilm is great success!   

 Grade: A-