Picture a world where Youtube and Twitter were in their infancy, and Internet Trolls were relegated to chat rooms and less mainstream parts of the web. Once you wake from that beautiful sweet paradise, you might also realize that our first mainstream troll with a movie budget was Sacha Baron Cohen. The set up is truly one of a kind, relying in Baron Cohen’s improv and an unprepared delusional confidence of the person he’s interviewing. Like all great films built around shock value like Borat was, it’s hard for the sequel to come close (Bad Santa 2 being a great example, bleh). Borat: Subsequent Movie Film lacks the infinite supply of shocks the 2006 film had, but it still packs a punch when it wants to, finding moments of genuine incisiveness that cut deep to the heart of the worst parts of America.
Since the events of the first film, Borat (Baron Cohen) has been in a Kazakhstan gulag, punished for his movie’s negative effect on the country’s economy. During that timeframe, America has turned into a country more sympathetic to autocratic states like Kazakhstan, so the Leader of the country askes Borat to deliver a gift, the country’s top monkey, to the Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence. Unforeseen events lead to that present not being possible. Desperate to avoid being executed, Borat proposes to give his early teenage daughter Sandra Jessica Parker Sagdiyev (Maria Bakalova) to Mike Pence instead, which Kazakhstan’s leader agrees to.
And so we begin another trip through America’s heartland. In this case, a very rushed one, as it’s pretty clear everyone involved wanted this film released before November 3rd, election day. Because of that, I’m pretty sure we only got an early version of this movie; half of the shock attempts actually prove that people are pretty decent, like a sweet conservative women’s coalition that reacts with empathetic horror at Sandra’s speech at their convention. Also, the same hypocrisy call outs in 2006 are not as fun when repeated nearly the same. The best stuff, like all great comedies, are when Borat and Sandra are speaking humorous biting truth to people in power. It’s cruelly brilliant to watch a conservative anti-abortion center manager squirm when he thinks Borat impregnated his own daughter, and he has to fit this information into his strict viewpoint, or the terrifying moment with an important political figure that’s clearly the movie’s highlight. Baron Cohen shines brightest when he works over people in power like a punching bag.
Something new this Baron Cohen tries in the sequel is a different narrative drive from a different character. Borat is certainly seen a lot through this movie, but Baron Cohen knows he might be made by these powerful figures, as we see people in the street notice him immediately. So he brings on a fresh face, Maria Bakalova, for most of the big pieces. Bakalova is as game as Baron Cohen is for shock and awe sequences, and the talented actress proves adept at drawing out the worst behavior in people like Baron Cohen himself, forcing these people to confront their hypocrisy. Plus, Baron Cohen can revolve the movie’s story more around the intellectual awakening of Sandra and Borat’s struggle to adapt. The pair’s bond is the core of the film, which amplifies the stakes of the big finale, making you worry along with your laughter.
I think everyone was laughing through 2006’s Borat. The Subsequent Moviefilm is more of a mixed bag. Partially because some of the freshness is gone, and partially because the US is in a state of health, political, and personal crisis, so what we’re laughing at just isn’t as funny because of the lives this hurting. I know my Kazakh friends are not going to be happy with their portrayal as a 3rd world country here, or as a sinister evildoing nation, which they’re not. The few I know are big Taylor Swift fans for goodness sake!