In 2006, we needed to laugh—at ourselves.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the only person with the chutzpah—okay, the only person with the “khram” to dare brandish a mirror in America’s face was, in fact, not American, no matter how you look at it: Sacha Baron Cohen hails from England and his alter ego, Borat Sagdiyev, from Kazakhstan. But whereas Cohen remains an elusive quasi-mystery, Borat craves the U.S. and A. spotlight and would relish even a second more spent in it. That is why we’ve chosen Borat over Cohen as our Entertainer of the Year, and Borat’s ability to make us howl with laughter—and cringe—at ourselves is one of many reasons why we’ve chosen him over everybody else!
It was an eventful year for entertainers and entertainment—celebrities and celebrity, too. Brad and Angelina did good (unless there’s truth to stories of their “colonial overlord” lifestyle in Namibia or their bullying in India); Lindsay and Naomi did bad (according to the production company behind Lohan‘s upcoming movie Georgia Rule and Campbell‘s numerous plaintiffs, respectively); and Cosmo Kramer and Mad Mel did ugly. Guiltily or not, their sagas kept us entertained, as did more traditional media like TV (Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, American Idol) and movies (Pirates of the Caribbean 2, the plethora of horror and animated movies, the return of James Bond, the three movies apiece for Cate Blanchett and Jack Black).
But in one 84-minute fell swoop, by the ambitious title of Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, one man encompassed the good, the bad and the ugly. Borat was a film unlike any we’d ever seen before. It was a film that, in a small way, has had a national impact, if not a worldwide one. It was a film that teemed with controversy, most of which didn’t materialize until after it became a veritable blockbuster. It was a film that defied everything and everyone: the MPAA, box-office prognosticators, the American and Kazakh governments, convention, odds-makers, categorization, and apathetic reaction, to name a few. It was a film…that was much more than just a film.
It was, and remains, more like a cultural phenomenon, unexpected and inexplicable—not because it caused some shock waves but because of the magnitude of its earthquake. Borat’s eponymous movie was, of course, the primary platform he used to entertain us, but it’s also fair to say that his movie was merely the seed that spawned countless sideshows. Indeed, the frenzy before, during and after Borat entranced us just as much as the movie itself, for we were scouring the headlines and glued to the tube to see his latest Andy Kaufman-caliber stunt(s), our collective jaw plastered to the floor all the while…
PRE-RELEASE
In the run up to Borat’s release, Cohen’s ingenuity begins (or merely continues, for those familiar with his unconventional but brilliant career and the tactics that have accompanied it). While most celebs settle for a disingenuous pop-in on Leno to plug their upcoming “labor of love,” Borat makes a cameo at the White House and tries to show “Premier George Walter Bush” a sneak peek of his movie. Borat naturally doesn’t make it past the security gates, but the film is broached by Bush during a meeting to discuss oil supply with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is frantic over the Borat furor. From that point forward, the movie’s publicity rides the coattails of almost daily denunciations by the Kazakh government, which claims the film is slanderous and unrepresentative of Kazakhstan and its people.
RELEASE
Approximately two weeks prior to its scheduled release, Borat screenings are slashed by more than 50 percent after Twentieth Century Fox is discouraged by how poorly the film scored with test audiences. Things look grim for Mr. Sagdiyev, who famously proclaims in the movie’s trailer that “If it not success, I will be execute”—not without that priceless ear-to-ear smile, of course. It seems the film is set to join so many similar critically-acclaimed-but-commercially-disdained movies of years past in the cinematic cellar. But the resolve of Borat Nation is immeasurable—actually, it is measurable, in dollars: On its opening weekend, beginning Nov. 3, Borat comes in at No. 1 at the North American box office with $26.3 million earned in a measly 837 theaters, damning all box office “experts” and setting a box-office record for its high gross at fewer than 1,000 theaters. It wins the next weekend too before merely biting huge chunks out of the weekly box office thereafter without taking first place. Which is fine, because by the time the once Little Movie That Couldn’t is pulled from theaters it will have out-earned The Break-Up and possibly Mission: Impossible III. Now there’s a sentence no one would’ve dared to predict with a straight face!
POST-RELEASE
Only since Borat’s release and subsequent huge success has the true pandemonium begun. “Co-stars” have come out of the woodwork demanding apologies and/or payment, not to mention the Turkish journalist who claims he’s the real Borat. Borat himself has been ubiquitous on the talk-show circuit; one minute he’s on the streets of New York City with Regis Philbin, the next he’s on Martha Stewart during an impromptu, deadpan sexual embrace on The Tonight Show—yes, even Martha Stewart is game! The Kazakh government has also since come around, with President Nazarbayev stating, “There is no such thing as bad publicity.” And the movie has been linked to the dissolution of at least one celeb marriage, that of Borat’s muse, Pamela Anderson. Suddenly, Borat Sagdiyev is a white-hot commodity—and Sacha Baron Cohen is a green bull’s-eye! To help allay the unrest his movie has caused, Cohen ditched the ‘stache and soiled suit and spoke to Rolling Stone magazine as—drum roll, please—himself, a move literally and figuratively out of character. The story didn’t paint a contrite Cohen, but rather a surprised one who defended his movie against charges of you-name-it. And the latest tidbits? Cohen has been recognized by not only several critics’ choice award circles but both he and Borat were surprisingly-but-not-surprisingly nominated for Golden Globes on Dec. 14, adding the Hollywood Foreign Press to the growing list of his entertainees. And, oh, right—what a difference a box-office-winning weekend makes!
[PAGEBREAK]As for that Rolling Stone article, it’s not like Cohen needed to issue a mea culpa. His movie is actually nothing but pure, nonstop entertainment—perhaps too pure for some to swallow at times—and it is important to remember that entertainment isn’t limited to comedy, even if you are expecting to see a comedy and are caught off guard during unfunny moments. As a matter of fact, the bulk of the outrage has come from viewers being appalled by what they saw, or feeling misled by the near consensus critical praise that convinced them to go see the film in the first place—as opposed to any one concrete sect feeling disparaged after the film was released. After all, the Jackass-style shenanigans should logically be more objectionable than the satire. And maybe the movie is guilty of appealing to polar opposite demographics like Daily Show devotees and rambunctious teenagers, but besides that the only viable complaint would seem to be the short running time. The bottom line is that almost every review has issued a “Warning! Offensive material” disclaimer on Borat‘s behalf and people have the option of not buying into the much-deserved hype and thus not seeing the movie! Of course, judging by the aforementioned box-office earnings, detractors are few and far between.
At the core of the movie is not a mean spirit—perhaps a genius in the guise of an ignoramus who evokes it, but there is not a malicious bone in Borat or his movie. He’s only aiming to entertain, through which he aims to inform here and there. But enough defending the movie, for it will always be not for everyone and Cohen is, once and for all, not entirely inculpable. This is about celebrating Cohen/Borat for all the good (read: entertaining) he did this year. He not only put Kazakhstan back on the map (remember what the nation’s own president said: “There is no such thing as bad publicity”), created a new movie genre (“guerilla satire”), and added countless phrases to our vernacular (“High-five,” anyone?), he tried to and succeeded in making us laugh. A lot. Below are some of the headlines that had us intrigued, aghast, hysterical and just plain fascinated over the past few months. In other words, further proof of Borat-mania:
8/6/06—Cohen Blasted for ‘Disgusting’ Movie Manipulation: Extremely early on in the anti-Borat campaigns, a couple of “co-stars” come forward and voice their displeasure with the film’s depiction of them.
9/13/06—Bush to Placate Kazakhstan’s Leader over ‘Borat’ Outrage: Almost two months before the movie is to be released, “Premier George Walter Bush” addresses the Borat issue with Kazakhstan’s President Nazarbayev during a meeting over oil supply.
10/19/06—‘Borat’ Hit with Legal Action by German Gypsies: The movie still weeks from being released, Cohen is hit with a lawsuit by a group representing German gypsies “accusing him of defamation and inciting violence against [gypsies].”
10/25/06—‘Borat’ Screenings Slashed in the U.S.: Movie executives at Twentieth Century Fox pull the plug on a wide release after the film tests poorly, scaling back the movie’s opening-weekend release by more than half the theaters.
11/8/06—Turkish Man Insists He’s the Real Borat: A Turkish man, Mahir Cagri, comes forward with the revelation that he believes he is the inspiration behind Borat. He demands an apology and profits to make amends.
11/9/06—‘Borat’ Banned in Russia?: Kazkhstan’s neighbors threaten to ban the movie because of its political ties, the first ban of its kind for a non-pornographic film.
11/10/06—‘Borat’ Bosses Sued by College Students: As the fallout begins, two college students, referred to as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2, who appeared in the movie, sue the moviemakers, claiming they suffered “humiliation, mental anguish, and emotional and physical distress” after they were shown watching the Pamela Anderson/Tommy Lee sex tape while intoxicated with Borat.
11/17/06—Cohen Hit with Further Legal Trouble: A woman who runs an etiquette firm and appeared in the movie claims she was misled by movie bosses who said that her segment was for an “international guest from Belarus Television.”
11/22/06—Kazakh President Applauds ‘Borat’ Movie: In a total about-face for President Nazarbayev, the leader now claims he is a huge fan of Borat. After being distraught enough over the movie to have President Bush intervene, he says, “This film was created by a comedian so let’s laugh at it. There is no such thing as bad publicity. [People] will want to earn more and come to Kazakhstan to see for themselves.”
11/24/06—Cohen Nominated for Kazakh Award: Cohen is nominated for a national award in Kazakhstan, the same country he more or less lampoons in Borat. A Kazakh novelist pushes for officials to give Cohen the annual award.
11/26/06—Borat to Release Christmas Single: Now a bona fide superstar, Borat plans to release a single in England during “Chrishmashtime” and hopes to unseat Cliff Richards as the voice of the holiday.
11/27/06—‘Borat’ ‘Hometown’ Locals Angry over Cohen’s Portrayal: Citizens in Glod, Romania, are angry over how they were portrayed (when they appeared as Kazakh locals in the movie). One such citizen calls Borat a “son of a bitch” and threatens to “cut his b*lls off” if he ever returns.
11/28/06—‘Borat’ Breaks Anderson’s Marriage?: Pamela Anderson’s involvement is mentioned as a possible culprit behind her divorce from husband Kid Rock, who was reportedly extremely upset by Anderson’s involvement in the movie.
12/1/06—Eastwood’s ‘Flags of Our Fathers’ Leads Satellite Awards Nominations: Cohen lands a Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical nomination for Borat, courtesy of the prestigious Satellite Awards’ International Press Association.
12/11/06—Eastwood’s ‘Letters’ Named Top Movie by L.A. Critics: The Los Angeles Film Critics Association, among the most highly regarded in the country and often accurate predictors of the Oscars, hand out awards for the year in movies. Among the awards is a tie between Cohen and The Last King of Scotland star Forest Whitaker for the Best Actor award.
12/14/06—‘Babel’ Towers over Rivals in Golden Globe Nominations: Borat and Cohen are nominated for the biggest awards in the Comedy or Musical category by the Hollywood Foreign Press. Everyone is shocked, whether they fall under the “I never thought it could happen” category or the “I thought it could and should happen but still didn’t think it was a reality” category. Next stop, Oscars?!
Perhaps the biggest, most telling story to emerge in the wake of Borat‘s domino effect was the news that another of Cohen’s trio of characters from his beloved Da Ali G Show, Bruno, is set for the big-screen treatment. Universal forked over $42.5 million for the rights to a movie that will likely cost less than half that to make and hasn’t even begun shooting yet. But with Borat having stormed the earth, Borat having stormed the airwaves and Cohen having become a stealthy juggernaut in the entertainment biz (let’s not forget his role in this year’s blockbuster Talladega Nights), that price could end up being the bargain of a lifetime. And after a 2007 in which Spidey, Jack Sparrow and/or Shrek will have a say in Entertainer of the Year honors, we might just see Cohen back here again in 2008—this time in trendy clothes and a faux-hawk, as Bruno. Who’s gonna bet against him now?
