Word: baron
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...with a wildly raucous, satiric tone. It is Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, whose guide is a purported TV host and "sixth most famous man in Kazakhstan" of the former Soviet Union. Borat is the nom de guerrilla-humor of Sacha Baron Cohen, aka Ali G. - as HBO viewers know, and many millions more will, when this deeply sick, utterly irresistible film opens in theaters...
...doubt that Baron Cohen's performance will be cited on Oscar Night. But that wouldn't be a bad idea. Among this year's films I can't think of a ballsier or, within the boundaries it sets for itself, richer characterization...
...Baron Cohen throws himself recklessly into all manner of potentially dangerous situations. The crowd at the rodeo starts booing Borat when he sings the "Kazakhstan national anthem" to the tune of "The Star Spangled Banner." A group of young louts in an RV get Borat almost as drunk as they spout their beery misogyny. And there's an eerie scene in a revival tent where he accepts Christ as his Savoir and babbles in tongues. As if honoring the intensity of the believers' fervor, Baron Cohen does not act up - he goes with the holy-water flow...
...crowd in Toronto, though, got the joke, even before the movie was screened. Outside the theater, Baron Cohen entered on a cart pulled by six women dressed as scarved Kazakh peasants. When the film broke down at the start of its run, Baron Cohen, director Larry Charles and visiting fireman Michael Moore passed the time by answering questions. The screening was eventually postponed until the following night, leading to some grumbles from the normally ultra-placid TIFF audience - although the headline on Defamer.com, "Toronto Film Festival Projectionist Slain By Angry Borat Fans," was a slight exaggeration...
...Russell Crowe are clogging the red carpet, hoping that September in Canada is a harbinger of February in California. Warning to the stars: You may be upstaged by the fake-umentary Death of a President, which imagines George Bush's assassination, or have your party crashed by Sacha Baron Cohen's crazed Kazakh alter ego, Borat...