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Movies / Upcoming / Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

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Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

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Reviews Counted:39

Fresh:38

Rotten:1

Average Rating:8.2/10

Consensus: Jagshemash! Borat gets high-fives almost all-around for being offensive in the funniest possible way. Part satire, part shockumentary, Borat stars Sacha Baron Cohen as the gleefully sexist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic title character on a cross-country trek to learn more about our strange nation; along the way he dredges up the seamy underbelly of American prejudice and ignorance. Now the cat is out of the bag, what will Cohen do for an encore?

Runtime: 86 mins

Genre: Comedies

US Box Office: $128,387,996

Synopsis: Jagshemash! Sacha Baron Cohen, the star and creator of HBO's "Da Ali G Show," brings his Kazakh journalist character Borat Sagdiyev to the big screen for the first time. Leaving his native... Jagshemash! Sacha Baron Cohen, the star and creator of HBO's "Da Ali G Show," brings his Kazakh journalist character Borat Sagdiyev to the big screen for the first time. Leaving his native Kazakhstan, Borat travels to America to make a documentary. As he zigzags across the nation, Borat meets real people in real situations with hysterical consequences. His backwards behavior generates strong reactions around him, exposing prejudices and hypocrisies in American culture. In some cases, Borat's interview subjects embrace his outrageous views on race and sex by agreeing with him, while others attempt to offer a patriotic lesson in Western values. Wa-wa-wee-wa! Hilarious. Jaw-dropping. Inflammatory. Dangerous. Subversive. Borat, a satirical Kazakh journalist caricature invented and portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen, has been called all this – and more. Borat became a phenomenon in the U.K. with the comedy series "Da Ali G Show," in which Baron Cohen's outlandish humor and razor-sharp satire on anti-Semitism, misogyny and racism, came to life through his creation's bizarre behavior and interviews. Baron Cohen's innovative and unique work has brought him two BAFTA awards. "Da Ali G Show" was a worldwide phenomenon, and Baron Cohen is the only person to twice host the European MTV Awards. Dictionaries added two words based on his characters' "inventive" use of the English language, and even the Queen Mother was a fan. In addition, Baron Cohen received critical plaudits for his role opposite Will Ferrell in this summer's blockbuster comedy "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." Also, Baron Cohen was the voice of the King of the Lemurs in "Madagascar." Even before its release, critics heralded BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN as one of the funniest pictures of all time, and it became the highest-rated comedy on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB.com). The film's humor and acclaim stem from its comedy "dream team": Sacha Baron Cohen, Larry Charles from "Seinfeld" and Jay Roach, director of the "Austin Powers" films. Baron Cohen and Roach are the film's producers, with Charles serving as director. The production of BORAT – as one might expect about a project centered on the character – was unlike any other. Baron Cohen, whose commitment to the role is unwaveringly intense, stayed in character through the shooting, and elected to conduct publicity and interviews promoting the picture, as Borat. --© 20th Century Fox [More]

Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Pamela Anderson, Ken Davitian

Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Pamela Anderson, Ken Davitian

Director: Larry Charles

Director: Larry Charles
Producer: Jay Roach
Studio: 20th Century Fox

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make...

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1 - 11 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: In Film Australia | comment Comment
11/24/06
Luke Buckmaster
Luke Buckmaster
In Film Australia
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A film that ignites the baser passions, satisfies the lowest common denominator and makes sure that it offends equally. That is the film's weakness and why it is a quick hit with no lasting value.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
11/18/06
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
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I did find this to be one of the more inventive, aggressively offensive and insanely tasteless comedies in many a year. And yeah, that’s a thumbs-up.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
11/13/06
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
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In an era of stale, formulaic comedies, this uproarious and ribald faux documentary is like a hit of pure oxygen.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
11/03/06
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
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Borat may be dangerous to abdominal health; there must be a limit to how many convulsions a belly can take without trauma.

Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal | comment Comment
11/02/06
Joe Morgenstern
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
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You will laugh at Borat, you really will, but the laughter will sometimes stick in your throat.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
11/02/06
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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The brilliance of Borat is that its comedy is as pitiless as its social satire, and as brainy.

comment 2 Comments
11/02/06
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
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A perfect combination of slapstick and satire that manages to appeal to our basest common denominators while brilliantly skewering racism, anti-Semitism, sexism and that peculiarly American affliction: we're-number-one-ism.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
11/02/06
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
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Absurd, outrageous, gross, disturbing, insightful, and so funny it’ll burst half the blood vessels in your face.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
10/30/06
Dan Jolin
Dan Jolin
Empire Magazine
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[Borat] is equipped, like an F-15 Eagle, to engage multiple targets at once.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment Comment
10/30/06
Anthony Lane
Anthony Lane
New Yorker
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Uproariously funny.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/13/06
Leslie Felperin
Leslie Felperin
Variety
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Latest News for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America...

June 18, 2008: Bruno Gets a Release Date Opens in new window
Universal has found a spot for Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno on the release schedule, slotting it against Angels & Demons on May 15, 2009. More...

April 07, 2008: Bill Maher Gets A Religulous New Poster Opens in new window
Noted politically incorrect television host and out of the closet atheist Bill Maher may be the new Borat. Or something like it. He's making a movie with Larry Charles, one of... More...

March 31, 2008: Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno Goes to Kansas
Just a few short years after baffling and enraging Middle Americans with Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen is back...as Bruno. More...

March 04, 2008: Rush Hour 3 Takes '07 DVD Rental Crown
It may not have been quite the box-office phenomenon that its predecessors were -- and critics may have disliked it enough to keep it down at 20 percent on the Tomatometer --... More...

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