L ifestyles /C ulture
If You Loved ‘Borat,’ You’ll Like the Sequel
FI L M
ANDY GOTLIEB | JE MANAGING EDITOR
“BORAT SUBSEQUENT
Moviefilm” struggles with
the same issues that affect all
sequels — how to recapture
what made the original so
captivating. For the new “Borat,” the
problem is compounded because
Sacha Baron Cohen’s 2006
mockumentary about fictional
Kazakhstan journalist Borat
Sagdiyev’s visit to the United
States succeeded because he
was able to trick unsuspecting
citizens into saying and doing
stupid stuff. Lots of it.

But the sequel is hindered
because the element of surprise
is gone — which is alluded to
early on when Borat returns to
the U.S. and is recognized by
numerous people who repli-
cate his most-famous sayings
and gestures. In turn, Borat
often takes to disguising
himself, although a costume
store worker does show him a
“stupid foreign reporter” outfit
that features his trademark suit
and a mustachioed man on the
plastic bag.

In addition, the number
of truly impromptu moments
seems far fewer than the
original; it appears that more
moments were staged than
in the original (although the
number of staged scenes in the
original remains up for debate).

And the sequel, now avail-
able on Amazon Prime, lacks
a truly signature outrageous
moment, such as the nude
wrestling scene in the original
between Borat and his manager
Azamat (Ken Davitian). A
couple scenes do come close.

Still, “Borat Subsequent
Moviefilm” has numerous
funny, even hilarious, moments
and offers plenty of social
commentary wrapped up in a
goofy package. In other words,
if you loved the original, you’ll
probably like the new offering
26 OCTOBER 29, 2020
— and the twist at the end
about Borat’s real mission is
pretty good, too.

The new movie shows Borat
in a gulag, sentenced to life
imprisonment for embar-
rassing his native Kazakhstan
with his first documentary.

Borat gets a reprieve, however,
when Premier Nursultan
Nazarbayev releases him so he
can redeem the nation with a
gift to President Donald Trump
(who Borat calls McDonald
Trump) of Kazakh Minister of
Culture Johnny the Monkey
(I’m not making this up).

Because Borat defecated
in the Trump International
Hotel and Tower in the first
film, he decides to instead give
the monkey to Vice President
Mike Pence.

When Borat arrives via cargo
ship in Texas, he discovers the
monkey is dead in its shipping
crate, apparently eaten by his
15-year-old wild child daughter
Tutar (Bulgarian actress Maria
Bakalova), who smuggled
herself into the country. In
the movie’s early moments, we
learn about the daughter, so
her appearance isn’t a surprise.

Thinking fast, Borat decides
that Tutar will become the gift
to Pence, gets her a makeover
and even introduces her at a
debutante ball, which features
a major gross-out scene.

Some of the movie’s best
moments come when Borat
crashes the Conservative
Political Action Conference
where Pence spoke in February.

Borat first shows up in a Ku
Klux Klan outfit, announcing
that he is Trump’s Jewish
adviser Stephen Miller, then as
Trump himself.

After getting tossed from
CPAC, Borat decides the next best
thing would be to give Tutar to
Rudy Giuliani, setting up a signa-
ture (and somewhat controversial)
moment of the film. Various other
adventures occur beforehand,
including nods to COVID-19 and
social distancing.

Borat Sagdiyev shares a semi-tender moment with his daughter Tutar.
As with the original, the
sequel includes several moments
of Jewish-specific content viewed
through the lens of anti-Semitic
Borat. Some may contend the
humor is mean-spirited, but
Baron Cohen, who is Jewish,
is making a point about how
anti-Semitism — or simple
ignorance — often bubbles right
below the surface.

In one scene, for example,
Borat buys a chocolate cake
as instructed by his country’s
leader. The woman who sells him
the cake doesn’t bat an eye when
asked to pipe the Charlottesville,
Virginia, white supremacist
rallying cry of “Jews will not
replace us” onto the cake.

It’s also a bit of an in-joke
that when Borat is suppos-
edly speaking in Kazakh, he’s
actually speaking Hebrew with
some gibberish mixed in.

And his scene with a Holocaust
survivor who unconditionally
accepts the anti-Semite character
even borders on touching.

All in all, “Borat Subsequent
Moviefilm” is certainly worth a
view, especially in these overly
tense and hostile times when it
might feel good to lighten up
now and again.

While the sequel doesn’t
quite match the original, Baron
Cohen’s been on a roll of late,
stealing numerous scenes as
JEWISH EXPONENT
Photos courtesy of Amazon Studios
Borat models his Mickey Mouse pajamas.

Borat draws scorn from his neighbors at home.

Abbie Hoffman in “The Trial of
the Chicago 7,” which debuted
on Netflix earlier this month.

Hoffman provided much of the
comic relief during the trial,
so the role isn’t that much of a
stretch for Baron Cohen, but he
was also excellent in the 2019
drama miniseries “The Spy,”
playing Israeli spy Eli Cohen.

Baron Cohen is next slated
to appear as the title character
in “Mandrake the Magician.” l
agotlieb@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0797
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