It’s been 14 years since Sacha Baron Cohen’s intrepid Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev invaded America in an effort to learn about the powerhouse country and steal their secrets for the great nation of Kazakhstan. Borat’s trip, of course, goes awry in the most spectacular fashion, in a way some might say that is similar to the current state of the United States under the presidency of one Donald Trump (or McDonald Trump if you were raised in Kazakhstan). This similarity is not lost on Baron Cohen who dives deep into his bag of crude humour and over-the-top political satire to deliver a film with real bite in its condemnation of the current American administration, but also with a surprising amount of heart in the relationship between Borat and his estranged daughter. While it may not have the staying power of the original film due to the narrow focus of its themes on the current election, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is still a hilarious, if sometimes overly crude return to form for Sacha Baron Cohen and a welcome comeback for one of comedy’s biggest modern icons.
What makes Borat Subsequent Moviefilm so effective in today’s climate is just how closely Baron Cohen has his finger on the pulse of what is going on in the world at the moment. Filmed in secret in 2019 and 2020, the film feels extremely timely and fresh, tackling the most recent allegations of inappropriateness against Trump and even the Coronavirus pandemic, with Borat learning the ins and out of the virus, including that it can’t be beaten to death with a frying pan. There is no questioning Baron Cohen’s commitment to his characters and art, clearly risking extreme punishment as he barges into Republic conferences and rallies in deep, inflammatory cover; risking death from the more fanatic, gun-toting members of Trump’s followers. It adds an extra layer of respect from the audience that endears you even more to Borat and allows him to get away with the crassness of the character. Who else in 2020 could get away with playing a character who genuinely and openly supports the Holocaust?
Balancing out that crassness is the addition of relatively unknown Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova, making her English language debut as Borat’s daughter Tutar. Her character is central to the plot, which sees Borat making his way across the States to gift Tutar to vice-president Mike Pence in an effort to mend fences between the two countries and prevent Borat’s execution. Tutar’ s presence not only allows for the obvious jokes and commentary to be made about Trump and Pence’s penchant for using women but also provides an unexpected and welcome dose of heart to the proceedings, as we watch Borat develop unexpected feelings of pride and a protectiveness for his daughter. Bakalova is excellent in the role, clearly game for the same stunts as Baron Cohen as she puts herself in several awkward situations opposite unsuspecting, real-life politicians like former New York Mayor and Trump supporter Rudy Giuliani. That interaction has recently inflamed the internet with allegations that Giuliani attempted to seduce the undercover actress and although it certainly seems that way from the footage, Baron Cohen and Bakalova are actively trying to draw these responses from their subjects. This doesn’t lessen the impact of seeing these questionable events, but for the sake of fairness viewers should understand the political leanings of Baron Cohen going in.
While it may seem that Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is only interested in Trump commentary, there are also bundles of gags that tackle other issues, such as abortion and a woman’s right to choose. The set-ups may be ridiculous, but Baron Cohen does obtain very interesting responses from his subjects, as good journalists should, with some surprising and downright bizarre admissions from people on-camera, seemingly unaware of the absurdness of the situation or the character of Borat. Then there are the crass jokes. Fans of the first film shouldn’t be surprised to learn that the Judaism bashing and jokes about the inferiority of women return, with some truly vulgar set-pieces throughout. What does surprise, however, is the fact that Borat actually learns from his adventures and changes his views, something that may upset viewers looking for a third Jew hating film but which fits in with Baron Cohen’s agenda of changing viewers outlooks ahead of the historic US elections.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is a surprisingly consistently hilarious return to form for Sacha Baron Cohen’s beloved Kazakh character; a film that works as well as a comedy as it does as a political tool for Baron Cohen to bring light to major US issues from his point of view. If you aren’t invested in the elections and are sick of the constant Trump news cycles then this may not be the most enjoyable experience, but for those that have even a passing understanding of Trump’s misadventures through American politics and are willing to sit through some fairly obvious jokes, this is an extremely effective sequel that rarely falls short in the laughs department. Time will tell if the film loses its potency once these current issues begin to fade from memory but for now this is an extremely timely and effective comedy that you should get onto quickly before McDonald Trump launches his nukes at Amazon Prime headquarters.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm stars Sacha Baron Cohen & Maria Bakalova – Streaming on Amazon Prime now.