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"BORAT"
(2006) (Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian) (R)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Heavy Mild Extreme Minor Moderate
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Heavy None Minor None Extreme
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Extreme Minor Minor Moderate Mild


QUICK TAKE:
Comedy: Two foreign documentary filmmakers take a cross-country trip across the U.S. to find out what makes America great.
PLOT:
Borat Sagdiyev (SACHA BARON COHEN) is a citizen of his native Kazakhstan who's proud of his local village and sister who's the fourth best prostitute there, but is enamored with all things American. Accordingly, he sets out to travel to the United States and make a documentary for his government -- with producer Azamat Bagatov (KEN DAVITIAN) -- showing what makes America great. With neither fluent in English or American cultural ways, they shock and anger the locals when they arrive in New York City and start interacting with them and exhibit their misogynist, racist and homophobic tendencies.

After Borat catches a rerun of "Baywatch" on his hotel TV, he becomes enamored with Pamela Anderson and -- upon learning and being happy about his wife's recent demise back home -- decides they should travel to Los Angeles to find her. Accordingly, they set out on a road trip that takes them across the country where they meet a wide cross-section of Americans who show their true colors to these two foreign documentary filmmakers.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Older male teens probably will, as might anyone who's a fan of the character on "Da Ali G Show."
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R
For pervasive strong crude and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • SACHA BARON COHEN plays a documentary filmmaker from Kazakhstan who travels to the U.S. to find out what makes America and Americans great. Enamored with Pamela Anderson, he's driven just as much by wanting to meet her, and shows off his misogynistic, racist, and other bad attitudes while interacting with those he meets. He uses profanity and drinks.
  • KEN DAVITIAN plays his producer and road trip companion who's less out front than Borat, but is caught masturbating with Borat's Pamela Anderson magazine.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    Here's a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated comedy. Profanity consists of at least 17 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. All sorts of sexually related dialogue is present, a home-made porn film is briefly and partially seen and heard, male full frontal and rear nudity is seen live (including in a man on man wrestling match of sorts) and in photos, and other sexually related comedy (involving masturbation, homosexual behavior, prostitutes, and more) occurs.

    Some of that behavior and the overall way in which the protagonist speaks and presents himself might be enticing for some kids to imitate. The same holds true for all of the purposeful bad attitudes (racism, misogyny and more) played for comedy. Violence-based comedy is present (including a man-on-man nude battle over a magazine), while some characters drink (a lot in one scene) and others smoke. Finally, various instances of crude humor are also present.

    If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

    For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's a great deal of bouncy, handheld camerawork, as well as some spin-around camera shots.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • While behind the wheel during his driving lesson, Borat offers his instructor some booze (the man tells him he - Borat - can't drink while driving).
  • A few spectators at a rodeo hold beer.
  • Some frat guys in an RV have beer and we then see them drinking a lot with Borat, including the latter drinking from the side of a punctured beer can.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • Borat comments on his pastime of watching ladies while they "make toilet" (we see photos of several sitting on toilets, but don't see anything graphic).
  • Borat washes his face with water from a toilet bowl.
  • We see Borat squatted down, defecating in public in New York City (we see the side of his bare butt, but didn't note excrement, although bystanders act in shock).
  • We see Azamat washing his face in a stream into which Borat is urinating right next to him (we see the urine stream).
  • Borat gives some cheese to a politician and then matter-of-factly says it's from milk from his mother's "t*t."
  • We see bear excrement in the back of the guys' ice cream truck (after keeping a bear there) and they try to clean it up with newspapers.
  • At a dinner with various couples, Borat tries to figure out how to ask politely where the bathroom is, stumbling through phrases such as the place where you "make the sh*t." After a few moments, he returns, but is carrying a bag of his excrement. The polite host then takes him back to the bathroom and tries to explain the use of toilet paper, but then says he would be using that on himself and she wouldn't be on him.
  • As Borat and Azamat wrestle nude over a Baywatch magazine, they accidentally end up in the "69" position, with Azamat on top, his butt in Borat's face, and he tells him, "Eat my asshole."
  • When Borat mentions something about a mouse, cheese and a body orifice, a frat guy with him says he'll try it, but we never see it occur.
  • We see what looks like a severed animal head in Azamat's fridge.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Some viewers may take offense with some/all of the purposeful stereotypes and related humor present in the film, including making fun of the people of Kazakhstan, portraying Jews as evil monsters (such as responsible for 911), women portrayed as inferior to men, and much more.
  • Much of the following is played in a fashion where we're supposed to believe that Borat doesn't know any better about the way he's talking and behaving, etc.
  • Borat introduces people and places in his village, including the kindergarten (showing young kids with machine guns and such), the town rapist (saying "Naughty, naughty" to him and later, getting ready to leave, "Not too much raping"), the mechanic who's also the abortionist, and a woman who he kisses, stating she's his sister and the fourth best prostitute there (she proudly holds up a trophy).
  • Borat comments on his pastime of watching ladies while they "make toilet" (we see photos of several sitting on toilets, but don't see anything graphic).
  • There's a bit called the running of the Jew (akin to the running of the bulls) where villagers run in mock horror from a person in a mock Jewish costume, with an exaggeratedly huge head (and ethnic facial stereotypes). That's followed by the mean looking wife (another stereotype, including holding a large cleaver) who then squats down and lays an enormous egg (bigger than a child). The village children are then told to bash the egg before the "Jew chick" hatches (we see them gleefully bashing it on the street).
  • Talking to a humor coach, Borat asks if Americans ever make fun of "retarded" people, going on about how his people do (and implying that his caged brother is one such person).
  • Borat tells the story of his sister spreading her legs (acting that out himself, although he's clothed), showing her vagina to their "retarded" and caged brother, and taunting him with "You'll never get any of this" (referring to her genitals). He adds, however, that one time the brother broke free and "got this."
  • Borat is shocked that American women can gather in large groups, adding that in his country, five women or more are only found in brothels or graves. He then goes to a feminist meeting, laughing at their goals, comments on their smaller brains, and thinks one woman is an old man.
  • Borat receives a telegram that his wife was killed by a bear back home. After a long pause, Borat is overjoyed, high-fiving the hotel clerk who read him the message.
  • Borat states that Azamat insisted they drive to California rather than fly in case the Jews repeated the 911 attacks.
  • Taunting another driver, Borat yells out, "You f*ck my mother."
  • Wanting to buy a car, Borat asks a salesman what kind would be needed to run over and kill gypsies.
  • Some viewers might not like Borat calling President Bush a warlord.
  • Borat refers to black politician Alan Keyes as "chocolate face."
  • A middle-aged, white American male at a rodeo tells Borat that all terrorists look like him, adding that if he shaved his mustache, Borat would look like an Italian. When Borat then goes to kiss him in a standard Kazakhstani greeting, the man says not to, that it's gay. Borat comments on hanging people for that back in his country, with the man seriously stating that's what they're trying to do here (in the U.S.).
  • Some viewers might not like when Borat sings a highly modified version of the U.S. National Anthem, including lines about them supporting "your war of terror" and about George Bush getting to drink the blood of every man, woman and child terrorist.
  • Some viewers might be offended by Borat speaking with some urban black guys and wanting to adopt their way of talk and dress (including having his pants hang down really low). He then goes into an upscale hotel lobby dressed and acting that way, telling one white worker, "What's up with it, vanilla face? He also uses the term "nigger" but does so like a black person doing the same.
  • Borat and Azamat show up at a bed and breakfast and realize too late that it's run by an older Jewish couple (saying under their breath that the Jews will kill them). When the couple later brings them dinner, the two men are reluctant to try any, and even later see some cockroaches come under the door, thinking the Jews are shape-shifters and thus throw money down toward them and then rush out into the middle of the night.
  • Borat goes to a dinner where he meets a man who says he's retired. Borat then repeatedly thinks the man said he was "retarded" and asks if that's physical or mental. Later, when he and his hooker friend (who's just arrived) are rushed out and he's told the police have been called, Borat asks why, wondering if the "retard" has escaped.
  • At a dinner with various couples, Borat comments on two of the women, stating that his people would go crazy about them (over their looks), but then says about another, "Not so much."
  • We see that Borat is parked in a handicapped spot (although it's presumed he doesn't know any better).
  • Some frat guys view women as sexual objects while chatting with Borat, referring to them as "bitches," "f*cking 'hos," and saying, "F*ck the sh*t out of them." As Borat leaves, they tell him he's bigger and better than any woman, and warn him not to let them make him who he is.
  • Some white frat guys complain to Borat about minorities and how they have all of the power.
  • For those concerned with such matters, Borat attends an evangelical revival where there's brief talk against evolution.
  • Some viewers might not like portrayal of evangelicals at a revival (speaking in tongues, etc. for comedy).
  • At her autograph signing session, Borat proposes to Pamela Anderson and then throws a large sack over her. She manages to get out and flees, with him chasing her and guards chasing and eventually tackling him out in the parking lot.
  • Back in Kazakhstan, Borat states that they're now Christians, and thus don't have the running of the Jews ceremony anymore. Instead, we see a person jabbing a pitchfork at another who's up on a cross in a crucifixion position.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Dejected, Borat throws his bag to the ground and we hear his chicken inside it cluck in reaction. It's fine, but he then holds a knife to its neck, although he can't get himself to kill it and thus lets it go.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Borat introduces people and places in his village, including the kindergarten (showing young kids with machine guns and such).
  • Borat goes into a gun shop to buy a weapon to defend himself from the Jews (and holds a pistol while we see rifles and other such weapons), but he then states he wasn't sold one.
  • Dejected, Borat throws his bag to the ground, and we hear his chicken inside it cluck in reaction. It's fine, but he then holds a knife to its neck, although he can't get himself to kill it and thus lets it go.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "My name is none of your f*cking business," "Get the f*ck out of here," "I'll pop you in the f*cking balls," "F*ck my mother," "F*ck you, m*therf*ckers," "F*cking 'hos," "F*ck the sh*t out of them" (sexual), "F*ck off, death," "Piece of sh*t," "Oh sh*t," "Eat my sh*t," "The sh*t times," "Back p*ssy" (anus), "P*ssy magnet," "The asshole of a 7-year-old," "Like a 'ho," "She's sucking some d*ck," "Listen, pussycat," "Retarded," "Where the hell are we?" "What's up with it, vanilla face," "Black asses," "Nigger," "Up yours," "You screwed up again," "Eat my asshole" and "Bitches."
  • Some kids may want to imitate the title character, such as the way he speaks, thinks, interacts with others, and more.
  • Borat accidentally lets his chicken loose on a New York subway car.
  • Borat goes up trying to kiss various male New Yorkers in a friendly, Kazakhstani way.
  • Borat spits into his hand to do a handshake deal with another man who doesn't go along with that.
  • We see Borat washing his underwear (he's clothed) in a pond in Central Park.
  • We see Borat squatted down, defecating in public in New York City (we see the side of his bare butt, but didn't note excrement, although bystanders act in shock).
  • People react in shock to seeing Borat apparently masturbating on a city sidewalk (while standing, and his hand is vigorously moving inside his pants) as he stares at some store mannequins dressed in lingerie. Later, he spots a woman on the street, says, "Very nice" and then asks, "How much?" (for sex -- she just walks away).
  • Some kids may want to imitate the way Borat tries to tell a "not" joke (where someone tells a joke punch line, quickly followed by adding the word "not" to the end of it).
  • Some miscellaneous people have tattoos.
  • Borat speaks with some urban black guys and wants to adopt their way of talk and dress (including having his pants hang down really low). He then goes into an upscale hotel lobby dressed and acting that way, telling one white worker, "What's up with it, vanilla face? He also uses the term "nigger" but does so like a black person doing the same.
  • Some frat guys in an RV have beer and we then see them drinking a lot with Borat, including the ladder drinking from the side of a punctured beer can.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • A tiny bit of playful suspenseful music is heard in one scene.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 17 "f" words (1 used with "mother," 2 used sexually as are terms such as "made sexy time" and "uncork"), 11 "s" words, 8 slang terms using female genitals ("p*ssy" and "vagin"), 3 using male ones ("c*ck" and "d*ck"), 2 for breasts (variations of "t*t"), 7 asses (6 used with "hole"), 2 damns, and 1 hell.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • Talking directly to the camera, Borat says he likes sex, adding that it's nice.
  • Borat introduces people and places in his village, including a woman who he kisses, stating she's his sister and the fourth best prostitute there (she proudly holds up a trophy).
  • We see full frontal and rear views of Borat in a tiny, leotard type thong (thin straps go over his shoulders down to the pouch in the front, while the rear view looks like a standard thong showing most of his bare butt).
  • Borat's stern wife warns him that if he cheats while in America, she'll find him and snap off his "c*ck." He later refers to that again.
  • We see Borat squatted down, defecating in public in New York City (we see the side of his bare butt, but didn't note excrement, although bystanders act in shock).
  • People react in shock to seeing Borat apparently masturbating on a city sidewalk (while standing, and his hand is vigorously moving inside his pants) as he stares at some store mannequins dressed in lingerie. Later, he spots a woman on the street, says, "Very nice" and then asks, "How much?" (for sex -- she just walks away).
  • We see Azamat helping Borat get ready in their hotel room. Borat is in his briefs (we see the bulge in the front) and he then turns for Azamat to use the hair dryer down the front of his briefs (we're behind his body so we don't see anything), telling him not to use his hand. He then asks Azamat, "How is my back p*ssy" (anus) and Azamat replies it's not bad, adding, "Moist." Azamat then apparently puts powder down the front of Borat's briefs and we can see the motion of him manipulating Borat's genitals (but we don't see the contact).
  • Talking to a humor coach, Borat says that he "made sexy" with his mother-in-law (the coach doesn't think that's funny).
  • Borat tells the story of his sister spreading her legs (acting that out himself, although he's clothed), showing her vagina to their "retarded" and caged brother, and taunting him with "You'll never get any of this" (referring to her genitals). He adds, however, that one time the brother broke free and "got this."
  • Borat becomes fixated on Pamela Anderson's character in the TV show "Baywatch" after seeing an episode on his hotel TV (we see various views of Pam in her signature one-piece bathing suit that shows lots of cleavage as well as part of her bare butt). He later comments on her attributes, such as her hair, teeth, and the "asshole of a 7-year-old."
  • Told to use both hands to hold onto the steering wheel during his driving lessons, Borat complains that doing so is like how he holds a gypsy while he eats "micrum" (something like that, an unrecognizable slang term, presumably meaning genitalia). When Borat comments on following a woman to make "sexy time," his male instructor says that women in America can choose who they have sex with, shocking Borat.
  • Taunting another driver, Borat yells out, "You f*ck my mother."
  • Wanting to buy a car, Borat asks a salesman what kind would attract a woman who's shaved "down there." The salesman says a Corvette, with Borat then repeatedly asking about a "p*ssy magnet" and whether he can get one for his car.
  • Borat says that when he met his wife, her "vagin" (vagina) worked well, but three years later when she turned 15, her "vagin" was like the hand of a wizard (or something like that).
  • Borat gives some cheese to a politician and then matter-of-factly says it's from milk from his mother's "t*t."
  • Borat comes across a gay pride parade in Washington, and comments on the men there being much more open with kissing greetings than other men. We see various participants in scanty attire, including one in small shorts with a bulge in the front that Borat gropes (with the man doing that back to Borat who's fully dressed). We then see him back at their hotel room, drinking and wrestling, with a rubber sex toy (an arm and fist), and Borat commenting on showering each other (we see them go into the bathroom, but don't see what happens there). When a politician later tells him he was with homosexuals, Borat is shocked and asks if that means the men who tried to put the rubber fist in his "asshole" were such people.
  • Borat tells a man that when he's in his country, he can come to his house and do various things, including "use my sister."
  • We see some miscellaneous cleavage.
  • We briefly see some miscellaneous hookers on the streets of Atlanta.
  • We see the top of Borat's underwear as he wears his pants low to be like some urban black men.
  • While Borat and Azamat use newspapers to clean up a mess, we see some non-explicit sex ads in them.
  • Borat shows someone else photos of his teenage son, and both show the boy's full frontal nudity (including as he holds his dad in his arms).
  • A middle-aged and somewhat chubby hooker (with her shirt tied up like a halter-top) shows up as Borat's date at a formal dinner party, but the rest there won't allow it. Later, and after he takes her back to her place, she asks if he wants to come in, and he says no (adding that he has a lady in Malibu). She then replies that if he's ever in town he should give her a call, and he replies that he would very much like to pay her for sex.
  • Borat tells Azamat that they need to find a gift from him to Pam Anderson so that she will "grant me entry to her vagin."
  • Needing to pay for accidental damage he caused, Borat is short of the money and thus offers the shopkeeper a bag of "pubis" (pubic) hair (that he and Azamat say is the finest).
  • We see Borat in a bubble bath with his legs spread, but don't see anything explicit. He then comes out of the bathroom in a towel to find Azamat masturbating with his Baywatch magazine (we see hand movement behind it, but not the actual hand contact). Borat then races over to grab the magazine, but the two end up getting into an increasingly physical tug of war over it, where both men are nude. We see both of their bare butts, but Azamat is so overweight his genitals are covered, while an exaggeratedly long black box is superimposed over Borat's crotch area in many shots. As they struggle, they accidentally end up in the rear entry sex position and then the "69" position on a bed where Azamat is on top of Borat, with his butt at his face (telling him, "Eat my asshole") and his scrotum actually hangs down onto it. Their battle then continues (including Borat grabbing Azamat's penis -- not seen -- and biting his nipple), then moves out into the hallway, elevator, down into the hotel lobby, and finally into an association meeting in front of shocked bystanders (with many views of both men fully nude, albeit with Borat having that same long black box superimposed over his crotch area in all such shots).
  • About the above magazine (that Azamat had been using to masturbate), Borat says that he got it back but had it cleaned.
  • Borat talks about holding Pam Anderson and making an explosion on her stomach (presumably meaning ejaculate).
  • Some frat guys view women as sexual objects while chatting with Borat, referring to them as "bitches," "f*cking 'hos," and saying, "F*ck the sh*t out of them."
  • Borat tells some frat guys that he's going to "uncork" Pam Anderson and will take her "vagin" for the first time. The young men, however, say she isn't a virgin and then show him her infamous home porn movie recording. We only see non-explicit clips, but one of the guys comments on what she's doing: "She's sucking some d*ck" and we hear some sexual sounds as Borat looks both shocked and dejected.
  • About their above nude battle, Borat tells Azamat that his mustache "still tastes of your testes."
  • Pam Anderson shows some cleavage, and Borat later refers to her having a plastic chest (meaning implants).
  • We see a flashback to the above nonsexual "69" scene where Azamat's nude butt is in front of and on top of Borat's face.
  • A painting shows a bare breast.
  • We see that Borat is now married to the hooker (above) from Atlanta.
  • During the Kazakhstan anthem, we hear a line about them having the cleanest prostitutes (and then something about them being the second cleanest) and then see a few views of such women in what looks like a bar (and one may have suds or whipping cream on her body).
  • SMOKING
  • A few miscellaneous characters smoke, including a boy.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Borat receives a telegram that his wife was killed by a bear back home. After a long pause, Borat is overjoyed, high-fiving the hotel clerk who read him the message.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Whether the film makes fun of racism, misogyny, and stereotypes, or just reinforces such behavior and those who believe that way.
  • Cultural differences between people of different nations.
  • Borat states he's bringing a jar of gypsy tears with him to America to protect him from AIDS.
  • For those concerned with such matters, Borat attends an evangelical revival where there's brief talk against evolution.
  • VIOLENCE
  • In the background of a shot at a rodeo where Borat is singing the National Anthem, we see a horse fall back onto its rider (we don't know the outcome).
  • Borat accidentally breaks several hundred dollars worth of items in an antiques shop.
  • As Borat and Azamat wrestle nude over a Baywatch magazine, Borat grabs Azamat's penis (not seen) and bites his nipple. They end up bashing back into a large mirror, with Borat using the documentary camera to hit Azamat who then uses a lamp to bash Borat. Their struggling continues throughout the hotel, with more wrestling and grabbing, etc. before they're separated and constrained in an association meeting.
  • Dejected, Borat throws his bag to the ground, and we hear his chicken inside it cluck in reaction. It's fine, but he then holds a knife to its neck, although he can't get himself to kill it and thus lets it go.
  • At her autograph signing session, Borat proposes to Pamela Anderson and then throws a large sack over her. She manages to get out and flees, with him chasing her, and guards chasing and eventually tackling him out in the parking lot.
  • During the Kazakhstan anthem, we see footage of a person whipping a horse that's lying on the ground.



  • Reviewed October 18, 2006 / Posted November3, 2006

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