Borat 2 (2020) Review

RATING: 6/10

IS IT THE funniest movie I’ve seen? Hardly. Is it the smartest movie I’ve seen? Far from it. But Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm, or Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, is exactly what we need right now.

Following his failed-attempt at marrying Pamela Anderson, former head of Kazakh TV, Borat (Cohen), has been forced into slave labour, but now his government is giving him the opportunity at redemption by delivering an esteemed monkey to Vice President of the United States, Michael Pence.

However, due to further complications involving his daughter, Tutar (Bakalova), Borat must now deliver his 15-year-old child to the Vice President before his country sentences him to be executed.

The success of 2006’s Oscar-nominated Borat: Cultural Learnings of America Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan resulted in Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat becoming a household name among movie-goers.

Borat’s antics are represented in a found-footage style environment where situations and jokes are performed in front of unsuspecting civilians, resulting in shock humour being the primary source for getting laughs from audiences. And 14 years later, the simple method still works.

Cohen and Bakalova work impeccably well together as they travel across America in the midst of the country’s presidential election, attending rallies and public places while doing absurdly controversial acts such as dressing up as Donald Trump in front of the Vice President Pence and offering him Tutar as a gift during a televised rally.

Borat may be the film’s lead, but for my money, his daughter was the movie’s stand-out. In her feature-film debut, Bakalova manages to hold her own alongside comedic genius Cohen, and while you can see her trying to hold laughter in, she presses on to create an immaculate sense of realism through Tutar not only comedically, but emotionally as well.

An example of her excellence is towards the end of the film during one of the best and most controversial jokes involving Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump’s personal attorney, where he is set up by Bakalova and Cohen in a scene too cringe-worthy and hilarious to properly describe without doing it justice.

Subsequent Moviefilm, much like most films this year, faced problems half-way through production due to coronavirus, resulting in the movie’s script being changed to offer jokes at the virus’ expense.

Needless to say, this decision created controversy, but it’s exactly what we need right now.

In times of distress of uncertainty, Borat Two shines light on an otherwise macabre subject by using dark humour, creating an escape for those struggling to adapt to the astronomical lifestyle changes Covid-19 has generated.

If you need something to lift your spirits during the current climate, and don’t mind crude humour that will no doubt make you cringe with anticipation and affliction, make sure to check out Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm exclusively on Amazon Prime.