Response to Borat remarks in Thanksgiving thread

[Lightning Rod]

The Borat craze is amusing. Character comedy can be very effective in the hands of a professional. Baron Cohen is definitely a professional, relentlessly in character and shrewdly funny. He also understands that the best comedy contains some discomfort.

Of course Andy Kaufman comes to mind and Dame Edna and Stephen Colbert, Moms Mabley and Minnie Pearl. All these comics use the device of portraying a character other than themselves. It's a principle of clowning--once the greasepaint is on, anything is possible.

I can't help but be reminded of Bill Dana, better known as Jose' Jimenez. Borat has built his schtick on the same ground. Jose' Jimenez, like Borat, used the joke of the naive foreigner with an imperfect understanding of our language and culture, the stumbling innocent abroad. The comic possibilities are immense.

I met Bill Dana one time. My band was hired to play a private party in North Dallas and Jose' JImenez was the MC. He was a nice enough guy early in the evening, but things have a way of degenerating at those types of parties. At the end of the night Dana was passed out on the stage. Our ever resourceful equipment manager packed his microphone up with our gear.

[manic]

There's a nice souvenir

[stilltrucking]

I know nothing about Borat. What I have read about him here makes me think he is not my cup of tea. But you reminded me of that Steve Martin line, "comedy is not pretty."

Sometimes I wish I was a Catholic.

Father Guido Sarducci has spent the past thirty years living and working in the United States as gossip columnist and rock critic for the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. Recently, he was also appointed Assistant Managing Editor for the Vatican Inquirer.

http://www.fathersarducci.com/

[whimsicaldeb]

Borat was hilarious!

I’ve never said “oh my gawd” so many times in my life! More even than when I saw Clerks II (the one with the donkey scenes). Oh My Gawd!

The Borat clips don’t do the film justice, it’s really meant to be seen in person, all the way through.

What surprised me most was the age range going to see this film, I thought when we went with our son (almost 16) we’d be the ‘moldy oldies’ in the theater and I was surprised to find out I was completely wrong. There were people way older than us coming in, others of various ages coming it with their kids, or groups of kids, still others without kids and of course all the various ages of the kids themselves, coming in to watch this movie … and our showing ended up packed, which is another statment in itself as we went at a odd time (after matinee but before prime times).

There we all were – all ages, races, persuasions sitting together watching this movie laughing our heads off!

Laughing at the racism and bigotry, the religious bullshit, that lives in our country that was exposed so well in this movie.

I haven’t experienced that type of shared positive experience in a theater with peoples of all ages, races and persuasions since “Fahrenheit 911” and for those who have not seen this film, that should give you an idea of it’s potency.

To sum it all up … I loved the movie and highly recommend it.

Sasha Cohen and the movie, is not without it’s share of … adventures … since it’s release:

Humiliated frat boys sue 'Borat'
'Borat' Suit Says Villagers Were Misled
Borat Punched by New Yorker

All exposures of "human nature responses" themselves ...

The only thing I ask is: if you’re going to judge this movie – at least see it first.

[Dave The Dov]

Humor is the release from the burdens of life that weighs us down.
_________________
Honda Pilot

[Zlatko Waterman]

Don Novello, the writer, actor, comedian and producer, is a favorite of mine.

His sister (Antonia Novello) was surgeon general of the United States from 1990-93.
( just to throw an unexpected fact your way . . .)

The Father Guido Sarducci character is wonderful, but my favorite things of his can be found in THE LAZLO TOTH LETTERS. The name Lazlo Toth, taken from the Hungarian madman who attacked Michelangelo's "Pieta" with a sledge hammer,

http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueri ... 65,00.html


purportedly writes ( and Novello did write, and publishes the replies he received) fan letters to some of the great living villains and celebrities ( sometimes celebrity villains) on the planet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Novello

Novello also made a film of his stand-up college tour performance at nearby UCSB, and that film contains some great bits-- particularly Guido Sarducci discoursing on his philosopy of education-- sounds like HERMAN UTIX!

--Z

[whimsicaldeb]

More on Borat ....

Israelis Dig 'Borat,' Jokes in Hebrew
- By ARON HELLER, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, December 14, 2006

(12-14) 11:00 PST JERUSALEM, Israel (AP) --

Like moviegoing masses around the world, Israelis have crowded theaters to watch the hit spoof "Borat." But they are laughing for another reason: They actually understand what the anti-Semitic, misogynist Kazakh journalist is saying.

Few realize that comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's wacky comedic creation, Borat Sagdiyev, is not speaking Kazakh or even gibberish, but rather Hebrew, the biblical language of the Jewish people.

The 35-year-old British comedian is no stranger to Israel. He is an observant Jew, his mother was born in Israel and his grandmother still lives in Haifa. In high school, he belonged to a Zionist Jewish youth group, Habonim Dror, and upon graduation spent a year working and studying on a kibbutz, or collective farm, in northern Israel. He has since returned for several visits, his Hebrew is excellent and his understanding of Israeli culture superb.

The irony of a Hebrew-speaking anti-Semite is not lost on the admiring Israeli audience, which has made the movie a huge hit here.

"It is extremely funny and kind of cool to realize that you are understanding something no one else does," said Gaby Goldman, 33, of Tel Aviv. "It's not just the Hebrew but also the way he speaks. He sounds almost Israeli, he sounds like one of us."

Israelis begin giggling right from the opening scene, when Borat departs his hometown in Kazakhstan for the "U.S. and A.," assuring a one-armed man in fake Kazakh: "Don't worry I will bring you a new hand in America."

The subtitles give the direct translation, but there's no need in Israel. It merely repeats what Borat has just said in his impeccable Hebrew.

The film is peppered with Hebrew expressions and Israeli slang, inside jokes only Israelis could truly appreciate. In one scene, Borat sings the lyrics of the legendary Hebrew folk song "Koom Bachur Atzel," meaning "get up lazy boy." Later, he refers to a Kazakh government scientist, "Dr. Yarmulke," who proved that a woman's brain is the size of a squirrel's. Even Borat's signature catch phrase — "Wa wa wee wa," an expression for wow — derives from a skit on a popular Israeli comedy show and is often heard in Israel.

The movie's comedic climax — an over-the-top, full-frontal male nude wrestling scene — is sparked when Borat curses his sidekick Azamat with a vulgar, Hebrew expletive.

Uri Klein, movie critic for the Israeli daily Haaretz, said the Hebrew-sprinkled dialogue gave Israelis watching the mockumentary some added value and created an empathy with the Israeli audience.

"We are the only ones who know what he is talking about," he said.

Baron Cohen almost never appears in public out of character. His Los Angeles-based publicist declined several requests to interview Borat in English — or Hebrew. But by all accounts, Baron Cohen is the opposite of the anti-Semitic journalist he portrays.

He is said to keep kosher and observe the Jewish Sabbath, and his fiancee, Australian actress Isla Fisher, has converted to Judaism. His ties to Israel run deep and he still has an extended family here.

Attempts to reach his Israeli relatives were unsuccessful — Baron Cohen fiercely guards his and his family's privacy. But people who remember him from his days on Kibbutz Rosh Hanikra recall a funny guy.

"He was a very sweet boy, always smiling," said Moshe Tarazi, who hosted Baron Cohen for a year and conversed with him solely in Hebrew.

In a rare interview out of character, Baron Cohen told Rolling Stone magazine that he uses Borat as a tool to unearth the bigotry of others. "By himself being anti-Semitic, he lets people lower their guard and expose their own prejudice," he said.

Some American Jews fear Baron Cohen's humor will go over people's heads and reinforce bigotry. But in Israel, Borat's fans are clearly in on the fun.

Oded Volovitz, 32, said he and 10 friends who went to the movie together laughed so hard, they were reprimanded by the theater's usher.

"It was sort of like a wink to the Hebrew speaker," Volovitz said. "It was a message that basically said, 'Although the movie is very anti (Jewish), I am still with you, I am still the same Mr. Cohen. I'm just trying to send a message here and I hope you guys understand it.'"

___

"Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" was released in the United States by 20th Century Fox, a subsidiary of News Corp.


URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f ... 858S82.DTL

We knew that Cohen was Jewish, but we didn't know that he was speaking Hebrew. It makes it even better. Like Cal says, there are so many layers to this film. It's wonderful to know that so many people the world over are laughing together over and about bigotry and hatred - because it's out in the open and seen for what it is! It's wonderful to be a part of it all, this changing coming in - I feel like I can finally breath.

I'm telling you...if you haven't seen this move yet - go see it! Put aside your reservations and biases and go see this film.

I can guarantee you the only people who aren't going to like this film are people like George Allen, McCain and Pat Robinson ... people like that ... and that's a damn good thing!

Like what Michael Scherer writes in the Salon article I posted in the McCain thread (link above):

...(george) Allen was the past, Sidarth is the wired, diverse future...

Sidarth and Cohen and Kevin Smith and all the rest are the future of this world; happening right now; and I for one am glad about it all; love it - and them.