Borat has become only the third movie I’ve ever given a 10/10 to since I started doing movie reviews online (see my Borat review here). The other 2 were Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and Life Is Beautiful (I still can’t believe how many of you still haven’t seen this total masterpiece of a film). So it goes without say that I loved Borat.
There is fresh news swirling around about a possible Borat sequel. Our good friends over at Film Junk give us this:
Cohen recently told VH1 that he and producer Jay Roach have been throwing around ideas for a Borat sequel. And really, when you think about it, it seems pretty crazy not to do another Borat movie with the success he’s had thus far. The one question has always been, can Borat still get away with punking people now that he’s famous? Jay Roach thinks so. “There are always insulated worlds where Borat can go either on this continent or others.” In other words, Tokyo here we come!
To me… this is a HORRIBLE idea. Just plain HORRIBLE.
The true genius of Borat does not lie in the comedy itself (although it’s clearly freaking hilarious), but rather at the way Cohen is able to hold up a proverbial mirror to us as a society and culture, make us see our ugly side, recognize it, and then force us to laugh at it while demonstrating the ridiculousness of it. We are familiar with the environment Borat finds himself in, we identify with it… and it is that identification that allows us to be drawn in by his mirror.
Clearly Borat can no longer really do his thing in the western world at all (and I have my doubts anywhere) since we all know who he is now. Picking Borat up and relocating him to Japan, or Africa takes the heart and soul of what makes Borat so special out of the equation and leaves us with nothing more than yet another pathetic prank/shock comedy that’s already been done.
Borat is a special film. But lets not try to beat it to death.
