Borat Subsequent Moviefilm or (Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan) is the follow up film to the classic 2006 comedy mockumentary Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Yeah, the titles are pretty humorous in themselves. The first Borat movie has to one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. It's hugely offensive yet rarely too in your face. It is also able to pack a subtle yet effective message about how America (and other countries to be fair) unfairly treat those who come from different cultures. However, Borat (2006) is first and for most a comedy film. The joke-per-minute ratio of that movie is insane and the fact that most of the jokes land make it that much better. When I heard that a sequel to this movie was coming out, I was both excited and skeptical. Since the character of Borat is so well known, it was going to be much harder to prank unsuspecting people. Add that to the fact that everyone is used to being recorded and are more cautious of what they say on camera than they were in 2006. However, I was still anticipating the release. Unfortunately, my doubts were somewhat proved right when I watched the film. It's not the worst thing in the world or anything, but it is far from even getting close to living up to the original. I doubt I'll think about it too much in the future.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm suffers from many things that are almost unavoidable. To avoid everyone recognizing him, Borat is dressed in a disguise for a lot of the movie. To me, this takes away some of the magic from the character. Also, as many suspected, the reactions just aren't as funny or shocking.
Plot-wise, the film is mostly catastrophic mess. It almost has no plot. It honestly feels more like a collection of skits tied together by a thin string rather than any semblance of a concise or compelling narrative.
The inclusion of Borat's daughter could have interesting, but her scenes fall flat the majority of the time. While the two leads do have a couple of clever moments, there was an endless amount of cheesy, hammed fisted "emotional" scenes between the two that just get on your nerves at a certain point.
Finally, let's talk about the jokes and the pranks. Comedically, the movie is hit or miss. At best, the jokes land like a good boxer's left hook in one of his last fights before retirement. At worst, the jokes hit like the 9th batter on a recreational baseball team.
Although I admittedly laughed during the film... there was also a lot of sitting in silence... more sitting in silence unfortunately. A lot of that comes down to the fact that almost everything is so incredibly in your face. Sometimes it feels as if the filmmakers are on their knees begging you to laugh.
Speaking of begging, let's talk about the lengths the filmmakers would go to try to make it look like certain reactions were crazier than they actually were. To be honest, it is pretty off-putting and it kind of reveals a layer of hypocrisy too. On one hand, the filmmakers are constantly attacking politicians and those in power who lie and spread falsities to promote their agenda. Simultaneously however, the filmmakers edit and contextualize numerous clips to their own benefit. Now, in absolutely no way am I implying that politicians who spread hate and lie (especially about a pandemic) is on the same level as a comedy film with political themes that reshapes reactions. With that being said, it is still a flaw within the film nonetheless, and it lends itself to the overarching flaw of the content being forced.
I don't want it to sound like I completely loathe this movie. Although most of the movie was somewhat painful to get through, there were stretches of it where it seemed to pick up the pace a bit. Example being, the reveal at the end of the movie is definitely a highlight I enjoyed. Add to that, Sacha Baron Cohen is still great as Borat, even if the writing is a huge step down from the first film.
My favorite part of the movie might be the non-actor Jeanise Jones. A lot of my favorite parts within the movie were centered around her, and I think a lot of people are agreeing with me after seeing the overall positive reaction to her after the release. Also Cohen donated 100,000 dollars to her church. Very naiiiice!
All in all, Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm is a very disappointing movie. Sadly, it's a movie with no subtlety, whether it be for it's themes or its jokes. Messy, unfocused, inconsistent in quality, and felt like it was written by people who just threw every idea at the wall and hoped that some of it stuck. Even if a few things here and there did stick, it doesn't make up for all the trash on the ground that bounced off the wall.
In conclusion, Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm is not a complete disaster, but still a disaster nonetheless. Despite its nice heart and a few clever setups, it's glaring flaws keep it from being considered anything but a disappointing return for such an iconic character. I just don't think Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm needed to be made and it never did anything to convince me otherwise.
Substandard at best.
4.5 - 5.0.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm suffers from many things that are almost unavoidable. To avoid everyone recognizing him, Borat is dressed in a disguise for a lot of the movie. To me, this takes away some of the magic from the character. Also, as many suspected, the reactions just aren't as funny or shocking.
Plot-wise, the film is mostly catastrophic mess. It almost has no plot. It honestly feels more like a collection of skits tied together by a thin string rather than any semblance of a concise or compelling narrative.
The inclusion of Borat's daughter could have interesting, but her scenes fall flat the majority of the time. While the two leads do have a couple of clever moments, there was an endless amount of cheesy, hammed fisted "emotional" scenes between the two that just get on your nerves at a certain point.
Finally, let's talk about the jokes and the pranks. Comedically, the movie is hit or miss. At best, the jokes land like a good boxer's left hook in one of his last fights before retirement. At worst, the jokes hit like the 9th batter on a recreational baseball team.
Although I admittedly laughed during the film... there was also a lot of sitting in silence... more sitting in silence unfortunately. A lot of that comes down to the fact that almost everything is so incredibly in your face. Sometimes it feels as if the filmmakers are on their knees begging you to laugh.
Speaking of begging, let's talk about the lengths the filmmakers would go to try to make it look like certain reactions were crazier than they actually were. To be honest, it is pretty off-putting and it kind of reveals a layer of hypocrisy too. On one hand, the filmmakers are constantly attacking politicians and those in power who lie and spread falsities to promote their agenda. Simultaneously however, the filmmakers edit and contextualize numerous clips to their own benefit. Now, in absolutely no way am I implying that politicians who spread hate and lie (especially about a pandemic) is on the same level as a comedy film with political themes that reshapes reactions. With that being said, it is still a flaw within the film nonetheless, and it lends itself to the overarching flaw of the content being forced.
I don't want it to sound like I completely loathe this movie. Although most of the movie was somewhat painful to get through, there were stretches of it where it seemed to pick up the pace a bit. Example being, the reveal at the end of the movie is definitely a highlight I enjoyed. Add to that, Sacha Baron Cohen is still great as Borat, even if the writing is a huge step down from the first film.
My favorite part of the movie might be the non-actor Jeanise Jones. A lot of my favorite parts within the movie were centered around her, and I think a lot of people are agreeing with me after seeing the overall positive reaction to her after the release. Also Cohen donated 100,000 dollars to her church. Very naiiiice!
All in all, Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm is a very disappointing movie. Sadly, it's a movie with no subtlety, whether it be for it's themes or its jokes. Messy, unfocused, inconsistent in quality, and felt like it was written by people who just threw every idea at the wall and hoped that some of it stuck. Even if a few things here and there did stick, it doesn't make up for all the trash on the ground that bounced off the wall.
In conclusion, Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm is not a complete disaster, but still a disaster nonetheless. Despite its nice heart and a few clever setups, it's glaring flaws keep it from being considered anything but a disappointing return for such an iconic character. I just don't think Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm needed to be made and it never did anything to convince me otherwise.
Substandard at best.
4.5 - 5.0.