This has to be the most hilarious movie I have seen since the "Blues Brothers" !!!

Highly reccomended!!

i watched the comcentral show again. even funnier the second time around. i'll see the movie mon or tues. cost-$17M to make. opening figures were around projected to be $10M. there's an inked deal to the tune of $40M for just the distribution rights for the next *Borat* film. now, that's FUNNY! genius.

k

Yea, hear that alright -

Gonna be one of those sleeper style movies, much like the fast and the furious. That movie made for under 20 mil I think - has grossed over 400 mil to date----

It was just really, really, hilarious!!!!

the new york subway bit killed. the rodeo was too much.

k

is that so?

i think the guy is the most unfunny person ever. none of this stuff made me laugh, in fact, it made me cringe ...
it made me mad enough that if i ever run into him in real life, i'm going to beat the crap out of him.
just for making this dumbest of dumb movies ... what a waste of human [...]

so, there you have it ...
Andy

Yo! Respect

WOW! It IS only a movie dude - movies make you feel this way???? I bet you have not even seen it - NOT!!!! HEHEHEHEHE
You know, they make certain medications to loosen ones ass hole a bit -

nope, it's so much more than "only a movie" ... if you didn't get that, you obviously weren't there while you watched it ...
Andy

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Want's his schtick back.

Seriously, the whole Borat thing has been done better before.

I've tried a couple times to watch that Ali G show, I want my half hour back. I don't think it funny at all, actually, it's very annoying. If the movie is anything like the show, no thanks.

I haven't seen the movie, the previews were enough for me. Being rude and insulting is not funny and is certainly not genius.

He is hilarious. I truly enjoyed his cable show. I think his sing a long at a country western bar was brilliant. His interviews with religious right figures were classic. Cant wait to see his movie!

This guy has an incredible sense of humor that makes even me squirm in my seat at times. Its like man did he just say that! He is capable of making you feel a huge range of emotions from utter disgust to side slapping out of breath laughter in a matter if seconds.

Are you missing the blatantly obvious irony in his personality? The whole point of Borat is that he's from a culture we know nothing about, and because of that he can come across as sexist, racist, anti-semitic, etc. etc. and the real people he interviews accept it as a different culture. Sorta shows how prevelant relativism is, but more importantly, he elicits responses from people that show how many Americans are truly racist, sexist, anti-semitic, etc.

I have yet to see the movie but have watched many a clip on YouTube. In one case he's interviewing a hunter in texas and while there are funny parts, this hunter is simply astounding in his admission of how he wouldn't mind the hunting of Jews.

He's really poking fun at a lot of things by being an over the top racist/sexist, etc. I guess it just depends on your sense of humor as to whether you think he's funny or just being racist/sexist. I think its kind of liek Napoleon Dynamite. You either get it and enjoy it, or its just not funny.

-Tony

And this coming from a dude with an avatar like yours right now ---


I have had the pleasure of visiting many countries and can only imagine what it would be like for a person of such a poor state and certain cultural learnings to come to america and............................

I can see the irony of it all - after all, we americans can be very much the same as Borat on a daily basis -

WOW! I just read that Borat was released on only 1/4 as many screens as the Santa Claus 3 and Flushed Away AND took in many millions more!!!!


Americans know when it is time to just say to hell with it and have a good chuckle----

p.s. -that was for for you Andy dear ---

You're a tool




















How's life been treating you man? Got the knockers coffee house going yet?

Oh yea, about the "movie" I was there and did see all the goings on - everything that every single american is subjected to every day, for the most part.

LIke:

Preachers who care more about themselves than understanding another,

Racism

Facism

Reminders of the holocaust,

Satan

Primpy ass rich people who believe they are truly better than everyone else,

Losing everything you own and love,

Realizing you have no friends or self respect,

Prostitution,

and really the list can go on and on.

This movie takes on all those mentioned and more and he slaps it right back at them in-thier-face-style.

Don't get me wrong, I am not ranting, it is just good to have a normal conversation about aspects of life around us and enjoy lively bantar, and this movie, for all its reasons of being made, hits cue to the daily life of americans, and just flat out makes satire out of it all --- I still think it is a killer movie.

Zat yer new boyfriend?

What is up BIZNITCHEL??? Certainly your swinging cod after seeing that picture huh homo???

What up dude, long time no derogatory put down - got that water humper going yet??? I mean, it has only been what, 5 years now???

Naw, no coffee house yet, keep getting stuck in a rut, I think I must have been baptized by those nomadic people which practice dark arts.................

Nothing new here. Car is still sitting under 2 covers, I try to take it down the road every weekend to keep it alive, job is the same, guys I werk with are complete imbuhsillz. Starting to restore a 68 Cuda at werk is kinda cool I guess. Nothing special, just a small block. New owner wants a bare metal rust repair/ paint job.Life goes on...........looking to make some changes in a couple of years, but I've got to much going on right now to pack up and vamoos. You?

Brother, I feel the pain. It is uncanny how our worlds seem parallelled - I was doing the jet mechanic contractor thing for awhile. That is until I went to a repair station in Hot Springs AR. Those people have a serious screw loose. The mantra of the supervisors and upper management is intimidation, scare tactics, screwing-with-the-paycheck, no training, and no identification. Last two are required by the feds. I hauled my ass outta there in a quick way. Do not want to be affiliated at all with them.

Then I met this dude who works for one of the Toytoa mega centers down here. Dude informed me he is set to make 125K this year's end.

He is just a mechanic.

I do believe I am going to get into that gig for awhile and rebuild my finances. Then I will branch off on my own, finally. To begin with automotive aftermarket equipment manufacture. Exhausts and inductions. I am going to take my 15+ years of intensive knowledge of turbine engine technology (gas transfer, pneumatic rate, etc, etc) and filter it down. Going to begin with only three brands: Porsche, Toyota, and Honda. I have already drawn up the induction and exhaust for our beloved little 4-bangers, should see around 15% improvement for under 500 clams total. There is a new type of venturi which has been proven by major turbine manufacturer which actually gives a charging effect. (until now, no venturi gives a charging effect, only a pressure and temp DROP) Hopefully in two years I will be self sufficient and have employees for a change. (instead of being one)

Saw "Borat" last night - I can see how its definitely not everyone's cup of tea. Parts of it appeared ot be staged for continuty/story line but the majority of it was a semi-documentary with very funny parts thrown in. The movie provided a slice of life, I for one did not know existed i.e. the revival meeting. Now I have a better understanding of why the politics in the US are becoming more polarized. You know the producers must have fooled their way into a lot of living rooms etc. with the line that they are actually filming a foreigner's adjustment to life in the US and Borat would push it to the extremes. I was a little surprised to see that the head movie reviewer for the San Jose Mercury gave it four stars; first time that I've ever seen him do that in quite a while as he is somewhat of a stuffed shirt reviewer in my book. Bottom line - I do think its worth seeing but don't see it if you are easliy offended. Right or wrong, there are some very interesting "vignettes" of American culture that "Borat" puts on full display.

* for these 2, my country would be much crazy. this one not so much...* dead silence at the formal dinner and the look at on the husband's face is priceless. i think it was $24.7M, yes MILLION, for an opening weekend. this film will make stupid money on video

please be more specific on what you found so offensive andy. i'd really like to know.

andy kaufman...funniest routines he ever did was the *tony clifton* stuff. latka...*not so much*.

k

Glad I'm not the only one who feels this way.

FWIW, I am a big fan of Frank Zappa's, and know the words to the entire "Live at the Filmore East" album by heart. I'm certainly not easily offended - but still have no interest at all in forking over $9+ to see this film.

Sir Andy, based on you comments, is it safe to say you did not care for this particular film?

John

P.S. Will you not be recommending this film to others?

i don't pay $9 to see ANY movie. matinees all they way. frank's clever factor went up 1000% when flo and eddie joined the circus. lumpy gravy? *not so much*. to each their own.

k

Brad if you have a chance dont miss the deewzel Zappa plays Zappa concert. Awesome.

http://www.zappa.com/zpz/index.html
http://www.zappa.com/zpz/tourdates.html
http://www.zappa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=43

I was fortunate enough to see Frank 3 times in concert. One of the best shows featured John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra as a warm up. Talk about extremes.

WoW, The Inner Mounting Flame was the first album I had ever purchased.

I would have flipped to have seen them live.

John

see, you're probably right when it comes down to the average american, but for me, growing up in europe, there was a lot of exposure to many different cultures, including a lot of eastern european cultures. i don't think you'll find anyone in europe who thinks even for a second that this guy could be real.
and there goes your "blatantly obvious irony" out the window (for me anyways) ...

i probably will never be able to completely relate to american culture in that sense. i think one has to have grown up here to really be able to understand. simply the fact that you can spend your whole life driving thousands of miles across a huge country without ever being exposed to a different culture, still seeing the same people at the same strip malls speaking the same language and buying the same products, that just boggles my mind.

if you need someone "blatantly rude and obnoxious" to hold a mirror in front of your face, then so be it.

let's take "american pie" for example. apparently, there's some sort of deep sexual repression built into the american society that is totally lost on me.
i did not see any resemblance to myself and my adolescence years in that movie what-so-ever. i didn't get it. i didn't get the jokes. there was no funny in this movie.
same goes for borat.

to me, these are just painfully unfunny ...
Andy

I,am with Andy , If you liked the movie great, just don,t think because you liked it it,s a good movie.
There are making less and less movies i like. just blow up something
doesn,t do it for me , or cut someone up with chainsaw not good.
they make money so what. ?

Robert21

Btw... I have not seen it, ain't gonna.

John

Not all movies appeal to everyone but because of these comments, I for one will now wait for it to go on DVD and see it then. I can always return it to Blockbuster if I don't like it. Thanks for the input!

Yes, in fact there is a deep-seated repression in this country. Notice how nobody blinks when broken and burned bodies are shown all over the evening news, but if a woman exposes her nipple on broadcast TV, people get all freaked out?

It wasn't new with the American Pie series. Take a look at Wierd Science or Porky's sometime. Or check out a town hall meeting when the topic of topless sunbathing is up for debate.
You had the privilidge of growing up in a society that doesn't invest huge amounts of resources attempting to repress a basic human drive. The people who wrote those movie wouldn't expect you to understand them because your cultural standards were "wrong" for the context of the film.

I haven't seen Borat yet, but I am planning on going tonight. Borat was the only part of Da Ali G show that I thought was funny. I hope the movie can live up to the hype.

I was 21 when I came to the US from Germany and then lived there for about 11 out of the last 13 years. Even after that much time you're still not really "immersed", the frames of reference people have are still way different from my own. It's all "western culture", but large differences remain.

I bet the movie will be a hit all over the world - unfortunately because a majority of non-Americans like it when someone pokes fun at Americans...

I kinda hate to get into this discussion, but Im gonna do it anyway...

I saw the movie last nigt. It was funny. I've never seen Ali-G. Borat isn't funny to me because he insults people (he doesn't directly do that in the film). Its funny because he gets people to say and admit things they NEVER would have said if they knew they'd be on the news or a movie. In doing so, you realize how racist, polar, and plain ignorant some of the country really is. Its very dark in a way. It was scarry as hell to see the congressman and state supreme court justice at the ministry. The laughter is just an "out" to keep from crying. Is is over the top in places, but less than some other movies Ive seen. Anyway, worth my $6.50. I agree, It will make a KILLING on video.

FWIW, I now live in MD (where the car dealership was filmed), and I used to live in Salem VA (the rodeo scene). It pegged perfectly some folks of south/western VA (note, I did not say ALL). Though, high-school football madness would have conveyed the area better than a rodeo... There are parts of the south that are still VERY much close-minded and/or racist and/or fanatically religious (to a fault). All that said, I still prefer knowing the honest, hard-working, good-ol boy to the slick, crooked, snotty types near DC

SMD

Lots of rambling and generalization here.

As far as fitting in goes I grew up and lived most of my life in the US and I still don't fit it. Spent alot of time in various countries in Europe and still didn't fit in. So not sure what kinda BS you guys are trying to use with the I'm from another country thing. Need to get over yourselves.

It's a fucking movie. If you don't like it you don't like it. Has nothing to do with where you grew up.

I don't think Dane Cook is funny. Yet eveyone else does. I sure don't spend sleepless night trying to psycho analize what is going on in the American psyche to try and figure out why.

And seriously if you watched American Pie and judged Americans completely on that movie you are seriously narrow minded. All the mohawks and peircing in the world don't cover up that fact.

This is getting good...

I did see Dweezil when he was here recently - and since MO is my favorite band of all time - I WOULD HAVE KILLED TO HAVE BEEN AT THAT CONCERT!!! I was just a bit too young when MO was touring. Damn. I dis see Frank in '76.....

I hear you! I think "Birds of Fire" was one of the first five albums I ever bought. They're still unparalleled, IMO.

yeah, and i see you're one heck of an open minded individual, arent you?

i used "American Pie" as an example. EXAMPLE. spell slowly and try to grasp the meaning ...
i never said i "judge" all americans based on one movie. or 10. or 50.
i used it as an example (get it?) to point out fundamental differences in culture between the US and where i grew up. and yes, those differences are real. maybe you would "fit in" better if you started to acknowledge those differences?
i certainly did not mean to put an value on this, as in, "i'm better than you are because i'm from europe".

maybe you should try the same and get that stick out of your ass ...
Andy

I feel the same way as Andy about American culture and what is considered funny, and I have never lived outside of Tennessee!
There are cultural differences across America, but let's not get into that ...

Thats a really good point. I was curious about this because comedy, especially that based on subtleties of culture are really hard to translate. Your background largely determines what you find funny. I tested this out actually. My mom could not stop laughing at the youtube clips of Borat. She was born and has lived in the US her whole life. My wife didn't get it at first, but now thinks he's funny. She was born in Argentina and has lived here 4 years. I talk with her a lot about cultural stuff, comparing Argentine culture to US culture. In a relationship many of those cultural differences are more obvious.
So then we showed one of her friends (another native Argentine) the videos and she pretty much didn't get them at all. She's been living in the US a bit longer but for whatever reason she still makes a lot of the grammatical errors and sounds/thinks more as an Argentine.

So it was interesting to see how different experiences and backgrounds really give a basis for appreciating comedy. I still think that true mastery of a language means (among other things) that you can understand puns easily.

Borat isn't for everyone, but those who I know have seen it and get it think its the funniest thing ever.

-Tony

Uhh, actually if someone DOES like the movie - - then it IS a good movie --

I am so glad so many of you see the satirical aspect of this movie - it really is a chance for all of us to just sit back, look at ourselves, breathe, and laugh aloud. I have been to many other countries and have found one aspect to be true (mostly, big mostly)

Just one case-in-point:

I spent much time in France - - I travelled from border to border and realized one impetus: Everyone generally speaking had the same mannerisms, generally same type of attire with respect to stature, same drawling dialect, same "stupid american" attitude, oneness of culture, and well, just generally the same.

Yet here in the states one need only drive 500 miles in ANY direction and the subjective if not outright cultural differences are PROFOUND!! From dress, to slang, to mannerisms, to thought of mind - I mean literally everything!!

And yet we are still all exposed in the same degree to everything Borat experiences and pokes fun at:

This allows most of us with truly open minds to look into ones self and country and just say, damn! How in the hell have we gotten so far???

sorry, you have cultural baggage... er, this is good. We all have baggage...

Shit i'm with Andy. "I" didnt understand American Pie or any of the other stuff. It just didnt connect with me. I just did what I needed to do. Who came up with that idea anyway?

I haven't seen Borat--I havent seen a movie in a theatre since like haunted house previewed in 3d like three months ago.

i can drive 2 miles and be "exposed" to cultural differences. from the first peoples selling cigs and running casinos, the koreans operating gas stations, russian bodyshops, turbaned cab drivers, etc. i doubt this was the case when you grew up in germany. a simple phrase or use of a word came be mystifying. i'll point out "veteran" as an example. opening a websters, a bit of thought, and americanese should cease to be a conundrum

i don't believe for a minute there are no cultural biases in germany (i'll use speaking "high" german and "low" german as an example), france, spain, the nederlands, or europe in general. the difference as compared to the U.S. is how they are perceived and our ability to laugh at them. if someone is offended, too bad

*Borat* dubbed into greek, russian, danish, which ever, would be funny i think, not so much.

k

uhm, never said there are no cultural biases in germany ...

of course we have them, my point is simply that i can't relate to american cultural biases because they are *different* from *my* cultural experience i had growing up in germany.

i just don't think it's funny ...
Andy

PS: and you really think that going down to the local korean diner once a month gives you a in-depth picture of that countries culture?