Blog from the Future Past

On the scent of a good laugh, I went to see, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan", over the weekend. It was, at times, brilliant, especially when it wasn't overly busy being disgusting.

Sacha Baron Cohen spoofs an unsusecting public as Borat Sagdiyev, a clueless, very un-PC TV journalist from the Central Asian former Soviet Republic. Borat, with his 'producer' Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davitian), arrives in New York City on an assigment from the Kazakh Cultural Ministry to learn America culture, but soon gets diverted onto a horn-dog cross-country quest to (literally) bag Pamela Anderson.

Borat's naive biogotry and social dis-grace seems to bring out the worst in the 'real' people he meets. The geeky, clumsy reporter is threatened with violence by Big Apple passers-by as he greets them with kisses and advised to shave his mustache by a rodeo official, so as 'not to look like a terrorist'. Three drunken college boys in a camper educate Borat on the finer points of mysogeny and racism, and he is converted to Christianity at a bizarre Charismatic service, of course to enlist the Lord for the conquest of the comely Ms. Anderson.

This is Candid Camera meets Saturday Night Live with full-frontal nudity.

I could have done without the prolonged scene where naked Borat wrestled with his naked producer, a man dripping rings of flab off ashen, coarse-hair-covered blotchy skin.

Get the picture? This is where we -- the audience -- get spoofed as well, part of The Joke.

It's worth seeing and you will laugh... much of the time nervously.