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When I first saw this odd little movie, I knew I had a colorful topic for my 4th Toastmasters ?CTM? speech. I agree with what pundit John Podhorentz wrote in the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard. As a satire, Borat competes with Jonathan Swift. Borat is one of the funniest, most insightful satires in many years. Absolutely nothing is held sacred in this movie. If you?re not offended easily, you will find this movie side-splittingly funny, but even the most jaded will cringe at parts of this movie. There are only a few naughty words, but there is plenty of crudity, grossness and bad taste to spare. Of course, quality satire is always going to offend someone. Borat looks cheap, as though it really came from a backwater like Kazakhstan. I mean scratchy and dirty film, marginal sound, mangled English in the subtitles, and so forth. Borat also completely mangles the English language in various absurd and creative ways. Starting with the title of this movie. Borat tells Americans he is a TV ?journalist? from the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, but he looks like what many think a terrorist looks like. Borat is a tall, skinny fellow with lots of black hair covering his body, a big bushy mustache and he wears see-through underwear. Borat?s producer also comes along. This guy is a short, extremely fat and very hairy man who must be a cousin of Jabba the Hut.

The Anti-defamation League complained until they learned that ?Borat? is actually a Jewish comic from London who?s been doing this particular schtick for years, starting on The Ali G Show. Borat has been the top grossing movie for the first half of November 2006, and now, the South Carolina frat boys that Borat hoodwinks later on in the movie are now suing, presumably to get a piece of the action. This movie is really about the United States. It is about how Americans react to a fake ?forn-ner? who has a hard time understanding and fitting in. It?s amazing Mr. Cohen didn?t get severely beaten in Manhattan, while going up to greet people with kisses to each cheek and bear hugs. He actually chased more than one guy down Midtown streets, in his ?friendly? way

Somehow, Borat wiggles his way into getting to sing the National Anthem at a rodeo in Virginia, but he sings the Kazakhi National Anthem, with the same music as the Star Spangled Banner. Borat?s screechy rendering did not, I repeat, did not, amuse the rodeo audience. After the rodeo episode, Borat and Jabba?s cousin decided they badly need protection. Earlier, they had bought an old ice cream truck after a car dealer rejected their offer of $650 for a $52,000 Hummer. They visited an exotic animals store, and after much deliberation, they bought a bear. For some reason, they thought a bear would be much more intimidating than a giant tortoise. In one scene, Borat and Jabba?s cousin have great fun pulling up to a school in the ice cream truck. Naturally, a bunch of little kids run up and the bear sticks its head out the window and roars. This was mean to the kids, but it was also extremely funny.

Earlier in the flick, Borat got a big crush on Pamela Anderson from an old Baywatch promo book he picks up from a ?Gypsy Woman? at a Midwest garage sale. Borat is rather disappointed when the South Carolina frat boys he thumbs a ride from point out that Ms. Anderson is NOT a virgin: proof positive by watching the famous Tommy Lee and Pam Anderson video. Borat later forgives Ms. Anderson and resumes his epic journey across the American South, westward to Los Angeles to seek out Pam. After getting to L.A., Borat discovers Pam is having a book signing at Virgin Records in an Orange County strip mall, so he ritualistically prepares a Kazakhi ?Marriage Bag.? I?m going to avoid a spoiler here. Let?s just say that it?s a good thing that Sacha Baren Cohen and Pamela Anderson are actually friends in real life.

To conclude, if you like sight gags, over-the-top humor and an extremely effective and insightful satire of U.S. social mores, then Borat: Cultural Learnings of America Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is THE movie for you. However, if you?re easily offended, stick to Don Knotts movies.

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