#sacha baron cohen
Helena Bonham Carter attending the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Cast of ’Les Misérables’ Portrait|2013.
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Well, at least they’re having fun.
Like father, like daughter
As far as shock value comedy goes, the arrival of Borat in 2006 is hard to beat. Sacha Baron Cohen’s larger-than-life, jew-fearing persona had his unwitting guests stammering and uncomfortable, while his sayings – ‘wa wa wee wa’ - can still be heard in college dorms across the world. There may have been doubts about whether this out-of-the-blue sequel from Amazon Studios could retain the same element of surprise, but Borat Subsequent Moviefilm skimps on none of the outrageous comedy of the original, adapting to a changed and crazy world - new presidents, new viruses - in hilarious and yes, shocking, ways.
After his documentary-making exploits in the first film lead to national humiliation for Kazakhstan, Borat finds himself imprisoned for his crimes against his home country. Yet, when new president Donald Trump steps in, and Kazakhstan is presented with an opportunity to win favour with the United States, Borat is sent on a mission for his own survival - present his own daughter Tutar (Maria Bakalova) as a gift to ‘Vice Pussy Grabber’ Mike Pence, or be ‘execute’.
Borat needed a good excuse to return for a sequel, and luckily 2020 has been a year just waiting to be satirised. Like with the quest to marry Pamela Anderson, the plot here doesn’t make much sense, but Cohen and director Jason Woliner use it as a tool with which to expose alarming social attitudes in the US. As Borat ventures through the south – cleverly using disguises to elude discovery from fans of the movie - there are genuinely jaw dropping scenes with a pastor who takes his support of pro-life to extreme lengths, and a store owner who does his best to help Borat get the right materials needed to ‘gas gypsies’.
As before, much of the humour here comes from the awkward reactions of Borat’s targets, though you would hope that Cohen and regular collaborator Anthony Hines would’ve taken more risks with their material – a final act about the ‘coronavirus hoax’ ends up feeling slightly toothless. That being said, the film has a huge trump card in the form of Bakalova as Borat’s socially repressed daughter. Stepping in as Cohen’s new foil (the gruesome fate of Borat’s previous assistant Azamat is revealed early on), Bakalova is just as committed to the cause, willingly plunging herself into absurd stunts – a period-stained dance father-daughter dance, and an encounter with a certain former mayor – that somehow top the audacity of those in the first film. As Borat’s relationship with his daughter forces him to confront his outdated views on female rights – maybe they don’t belong in cages? – the resulting ending is both silly and weirdly sweet, with the most genius cameo of the year yet.
A Borat sequel purely for fans of the original, this delivers more of the same, boosted by a father-daughter subplot that provides some of the most uncomfortably funny moments yet. For the most part, it’s very nice!
★★★★
93rd Academy Awards Nominees
BEST PICTURE
- The Father – David Parfitt, Jean-Louis Livi, and Philippe Carcassonne
- Judas and the Black Messiah – Shaka King, Charles D. King, and Ryan Coogler
- Mank – Ceán Chaffin, Eric Roth, and Douglas Urbanski
- Minari – Christina Oh
- Nomadland – Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Javey, and Chloé Zhao
- Promising Young Woman – Ben Browning, Ashley Fox, Emerald Fennell, and Josey McNamara
- Sound of Metal – Bert Hamelinick and Sacha Ben Harroche
- The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Marc Platt and Stuart Besser
BEST DIRECTOR
- Lee Isaac Chung – Minari
- Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
- David Fincher – Mank
- Thomas Vinterberg – Another Round
- Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
BEST ACTOR
- Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal as Ruben Stone
- Chadwick Boseman (posthumous nominee) – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom as Levee Green
- Anthony Hopkins – The Father as Anthony
- Gary Oldman – Mank as Herman J. Mankiewicz
- Steven Yeun – Minari as Jacob Yi
BEST ACTRESS
- Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom as Ma Rainey
- Andra Day – The United States vs. Billie Holiday as Billie Holiday
- Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman as Martha Weiss
- Frances McDormand – Nomadland as Fern
- Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman as Cassandra “Cassie” Thomas
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial of the Chicago 7 as Abbie Hoffman
- Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah as Fred Hampton
- Leslie Odom Jr. – One Night in Miami… as Sam Cooke
- Paul Raci – Sound of Metal as Joe
- Lakeith Stanfield – Judas and the Black Messiah as William “Bill” O'Neal
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan as Tutar Sagdiyev
- Glenn Close – Hillbilly Elegy as Bonnie “Mamaw” Vance
- Olivia Colman – The Father as Anne
- Amanda Seyfried – Mank as Marion Davies
- Youn Yuh-jung – Minari as Soon-ja
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- Judas and the Black Messiah – Screenplay by Will Berson and Shaka King; Story by Will Berson, Shaka King, Keith Lucas, and Kenny Lucas
- Minari – Lee Isaac Chung
- Promising Young Woman – Emerald Fennell
- Sound of Metal – Screenplay by Darius Marder and Abraham Marder; Story by Darius Marder and Derek Cianfrance
- The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Aaron Sorkin
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan – Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, and Lee Kern; Story by Baron Cohen, Hines, Swimer, and Nina Pedrad; Based on the character Borat Sagdiyev by Baron Cohen
- The Father – Christopher Hampton & Florian Zeller, based on the play by Zeller
- Nomadland – Chloé Zhao, based on the book by Jessica Bruder
- One Night in Miami… – Kemp Powers, based on his play
- The White Tiger – Ramin Bahrani, based on the novel by Aravind Adiga
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
- Another Round (Denmark) in Danish – directed by Thomas Vinterberg
- Better Days (Hong Kong) in Mandarin – directed by Derek Tsang
- Collective (Romania) in Romanian – directed by Alexander Nanau
- The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia) in Arabic – directed by Kaouther Ben Hania
- Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in Bosnian – directed by Jasmila Žbanić
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
- Onward – Dan Scanlon and Kori Rae
- Over the Moon – Glen Keane, Gennie Rin, and Peilin Chou
- A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon – Richard Phelan, Will Becher, and Paul Kewley
- Soul – Pete Docter and Dana Murray
- Wolfwalkers – Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Paul Young, and Stéphan Roelants
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
- Collective – Alexander Nanau and Bianca Oana
- Crip Camp – Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht and Sara Bolder
- The Mole Agent – Maite Alberdi and Marcela Santibáñez
- My Octopus Teacher – Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed, and Craig Foster
- Time – Garrett Bradley, Lauren Domino, and Kellen Quinn
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Judas and the Black Messiah – Sean Bobbitt
- Mank – Erik Messerschmidt
- News of the World – Dariusz Wolski
- Nomadland – Joshua James Richards
- The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Phedon Papamichael
BEST FILM EDITING
- The Father – Yorgos Lamprinos
- Nomadland – Chloé Zhao
- Promising Young Woman – Frédéric Thoraval
- Sound of Metal – Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
- The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Alan Baumgarten
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
- The Father – Production Design: Peter Francis; Set Decoration: Cathy Featherstone
- Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Production Design: Mark Ricker; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara and Diana Sroughton
- Mank – Production Design: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Jan Pascale
- News of the World – Production Design: David Crank; Set Decoration: Elizabeth Keenan
- Tenet – Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
- Emma – Alexandra Byrne
- Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Ann Roth
- Mank – Trish Summerville
- Mulan – Bina Daigeler
- Pinocchio – Massimo Cantini Parrini
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
- Emma – Marese Langan, Laura Allen, and Claudia Stolze
- Hillbilly Elegy – Eryn Krueger Mekash, Patricia Dehaney, and Matthew Mungle
- Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Matiki Anoff, Mia Neal, and Larry M. Cherry
- Mank – Kimberley Spiteri, Gigi Williams
- Pinocchio – Dalia Colli, Mark Coulier, and Francesco Pegoretti
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
- Love and Monsters – Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camailleri, Matt Everitt, and Brian Cox
- The Midnight Sky – Matthew Kasmir, Christopher Lawren, Max Solomon, and David Watkins
- Mulan – Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury, and Steven Ingram
- The One and Only Ivan – Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones, and Santiago Colomo Martinez
- Tenet – Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley and
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
- Da 5 Bloods – Terence Blanchard
- Mank – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
- Minari – Emile Mosseri
- News of the World – James Newton Howard
- Soul – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
- “Fight for You” from Judas and the Black Messiah – Music by H.E.R. and Dernst Emile II; Lyric by H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas
- “Hear My Voice” from The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Music by Daniel Pemberton; Lyric by Daniel Pemberton and Celeste Waite
- “Husavik” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga – Music and Lyric by Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus, and Rickard Göransson
- “Io Sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead – Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Diane Warren and Laura Pausini
- “Speak Now” from One Night in Miami… – Music and Lyric by Leslie Odom Jr. and Sam Ashworth
BEST SOUND
- Greyhound – Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders, and David Wyman
- Mank – Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance, and Drew Kunin
- News of the World – Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller, and John Pritchett
- Soul – Ren Klyce, Coya Elliot, and David Parker
- Sound of Metal – Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortes, and Philip Bladh
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
- Feeling Through – Doug Roland and Susan Ruzenski
- The Letter Room – Elvira Lind and Sofia Sondervan
- The Present – Farah Nabulsi
- Two Distant Strangers – Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe
- White Eye – Tomer Shushan and Shira Hochman
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
- Burrow – Madeline Sharafian and Michael Capbarat
- Genius Loci – Adrien Mérigeau and Amaury Ovise
- If Anything Happens I Love You – Will McCormack and Michael Govier
- Opera – Eric Oh
- Yes-People – Gísli Darri Halldórsson and Arnar Gunnarsson
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
- Colette – Anthony Giacchino and Alice Doyard
- A Concerto Is a Conversation – Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers
- Do Not Split – Anders Hammer and Charlotte Cook
- Hunger Ward – Skye Fitzgerald and Michael Shueuerman
- A Love Song for Latasha – Sophia Nahali Allison and Janice Duncan
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Did HBO go too far in cross-promoting Da Ali G Show?
~ The Sopranos S06E19 “The Second Coming“ - (re-run)
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Thinking about ✨them✨
It’s time for Hollywood to end its dreadful representation of women from Eastern Europe
The Bulgarian actress was amongst tens of other up and coming actresses from countries in the region who were flown out to London as part of the secretive casting process for the film about which they had little to no information.
The young women were put in cages and asked to drink out of a dog bowl. Speaking to the New York Times, Bakalova admitted that the casting process made her worry that she might have become the victim of human trafficking.
Goofy has an interview with Supergirl, which goes all wrong! This might be potential spoilers for Borat 2.
