Susan Granger’s review of “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (Amazon Prime Video)
It’s been 14 years since pseudo-Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) visited the Uni5ted States but he’s back – this time on a mission to deliver Johnny the Monkey, Kazakhstan’s minister of culture/#1 porn star, to bribe Vice President Mike Pence to admit his country’s leader to “the strongman club.”
When that doesn’t work out as a gift option, moronic Borat decides to deliver his 15 year-old daughter, Tutar (Maria Bakalova), to Pence instead. Dressed as a Klansman, he arranges to make the presentation at the 2020 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) during Pence’s speech, but he’s ejected by the Secret Service.
After that fiasco, Borat arranges for Tutar to interview former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in a Manhattan hotel room. One thing leads to another and they wind up in the bedroom, where President Trump’s personal lawyer lies on the bed with his hand down his pants, seemingly tucking in his shirt.
At that point, Borat storms in, yelling: “She’s 15!”
What’s amazing is that neither Pence nor Giuliani realized they were being ‘set up’ by Sasha Baron Cohen – until after the ‘sting’ was filmed. Nor do Cohen’s other interviewees, as he travels around the country, posing as a bigotry-spewing buffoon.
Written by Sasha Baron Cohen with collaborators Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Freedman, and Lee Kern, it’s directed by Jason Woliner who relishes people’s gullibility, particularly QAnon followers who spew bloodthirsty beliefs about Satan-worshipping.
Most memorable is how this raucous, improvisational comedy showcases 24 year-old Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova, who views the film as the story of how a poor, downtrodden girl can and should grow up. Relishing her liberation, she plays a strong, complicated character, working undercover with real people who had to believe her veracity in order for the pranks to work.
Streaming on Amazon Prime, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” is a silly, satirical, subversive 6, guaranteed to offend almost everyone.
