Sasha Cohen should win some awards for this one.
Seriously... and he did. How could the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy (or Musical) NOT go to a man who lived, breathed, ate, and smelled like his obscenely extreme character almost 24/7? This is the type of comedy that doesn't just stop when the camera turns off, and herein lies the awe of Cohen and company. The line between script and improvisation; sincerity and levity; and malice and insight is usually impossible to distinguish, and this, my friends, when the comedian cannot be tamed by his audience, is comedy.
*Expanded Review in "Comments"
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Apparently this brilliant film has been years in the making...:
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/xp-16655
EXPANDED REVIEW:
Sasha Cohen should win some awards for this one.
Seriously... and he did. How could the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy (or Musical) NOT go to a man who lived, breathed, ate, and smelled like his obscenely extreme character almost 24/7? This is the type of comedy that doesn't just stop when the camera turns off, and herein lies the awe of Cohen and company. The line between script and improvisation; sincerity and levity; and malice and insight is usually impossible to distinguish, and this, my friends, when the comedian cannot be tamed by his audience, is comedy.
With “Borat,” envelopes are not just pushed; they are torn to pieces. And while one is shocked at his antics, you remind yourself that Cohen is simply the middle man, the journalist if you will, between everything and you; walking and crossing the line and coming back again, leaving his audience to decide when to laugh at him, with him, or even sympathize with his victims; ultimately, MAYBE, shedding some light on to your own person.
But what seals the deal for me is Sasha Cohen’s insanely talented co-star Ken Davitian who is cleverly worked into the story as Borat’s Kazakh TV Producer, Azamat Bagatov. What could possibly make Borat more authentic than to have him shuffled around by a temperamental, hairy, round man who keeps a severed bear’s head in his hotel refrigerator without hesitation? I mean here’s a guy who really looks like he’s been on a steady diet of whole lamb and baklava since birth. The kind of guy who is so accustomed to his own grotesqueness that it’s not hard to imagine him standing naked in front of a dirty mirror, his rancid junk spilling in every direction, sweat dripping from his knees, and yet, he is quietly focused on rubbing down the one stray hair on his greasy head… as if that is the real problem. And at the same time he is also a capable and intelligent being on some level who, for the most part, covers up his unwanted excess and successfully orchestrates Borat’s American tour of duty, including his introduction to Pamela Anderson at the film’s climax. Azamat Bagatov ultimately helps to make Borat who he is, on fictional Kazakh TV, and in this film.
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