I saw Borat: Cultural Learnings for Make Benefit Great Nation of Kazakstan last night. I haven't laughed so much in a while. Anyone else seen it?
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Borat (some posts contain unmarked spoilers) (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter mikhail
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..***..
Mostly yes, but the humour isn't just the gay jokes, racist jokes or slapstick. Mostly, there's a subtext that's biting satire and a real cut at some of western culture. Mostly, he mocks all of the attitudes that he seems to be feeding.
Also, Cohen sticks to the excellent Chekov-Whedon rule: when you have a loaded chicken on set, you must fire it. I can't be give him credit for that.
EDIT: Can't not mention this given our discussion of political weasel-words in the Saddam thread: at one point he gets a big cheer for his support of "you war of terror", which is one of the finest plays on something like that I've ever heard.
Also, Cohen sticks to the excellent Chekov-Whedon rule: when you have a loaded chicken on set, you must fire it. I can't be give him credit for that.
EDIT: Can't not mention this given our discussion of political weasel-words in the Saddam thread: at one point he gets a big cheer for his support of "you war of terror", which is one of the finest plays on something like that I've ever heard.
To follow up on that... Jon Stewart doesn't apologize for having an 'adult' audience. If that means some people don't get it, so be it, but the material stays at a certain level of sophistication that makes it what it is. It's precisely by not giving in to our simplest instincts that makes us funny imo.
Fair enough.
Sorry, that's probably the most obscure reference I've ever made.
Anton Chekov, a famous Russian playwrite, said that "One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it."
Joss Whedon, the guy behind (producer and some time director/writer) Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Serenity and screenwriter for Toy Story and Alien Ressurection among others, once 'misquoted' that, substituting "chicken" for "rifle".
In Borat, there are a couple of amusing scenes with a hen he has in his suitcase.
Sorry, that's probably the most obscure reference I've ever made.
Anton Chekov, a famous Russian playwrite, said that "One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it."
Joss Whedon, the guy behind (producer and some time director/writer) Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Serenity and screenwriter for Toy Story and Alien Ressurection among others, once 'misquoted' that, substituting "chicken" for "rifle".
In Borat, there are a couple of amusing scenes with a hen he has in his suitcase.
No, Chekhov's gun is a technique that helps trim the fat from a screenplay. Here's another statement of it that may make that clearer: "If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there."
The Whedon chicken version is just a joke, from a man who has demonstrated that a well-placed chicken on stage can make for a nice piece of whimsey.
*minor spoilers*
Borat uses it mainly for two purposes: first, on the subway in New York, it 'escapes' and he chases it around a bit, adding to the discomfort of a bunch of people who had already shown themselves to be extremely hostile to him even saying "hello" to them. Later, when he seems to have lost everything, he makes the audience gasp as he seems to be about to kill and cook the hen, then lets it go with a parody of a scene familiar from lazy screenwriting, yelling "go" at it, crying, then waving a twig at it - normally used when pushing away someone because he feels hurt, or saving someone with an act of self sacrifice like in a war movie. Borat is doing both. Anyway, I appreciated the chicken-related humour slightly more because it reminded me of the Whedon quote, and I admire him enormously.
*end of spoilers*
The Whedon chicken version is just a joke, from a man who has demonstrated that a well-placed chicken on stage can make for a nice piece of whimsey.
*minor spoilers*
Borat uses it mainly for two purposes: first, on the subway in New York, it 'escapes' and he chases it around a bit, adding to the discomfort of a bunch of people who had already shown themselves to be extremely hostile to him even saying "hello" to them. Later, when he seems to have lost everything, he makes the audience gasp as he seems to be about to kill and cook the hen, then lets it go with a parody of a scene familiar from lazy screenwriting, yelling "go" at it, crying, then waving a twig at it - normally used when pushing away someone because he feels hurt, or saving someone with an act of self sacrifice like in a war movie. Borat is doing both. Anyway, I appreciated the chicken-related humour slightly more because it reminded me of the Whedon quote, and I admire him enormously.
*end of spoilers*
I used to watch the Ali-G show specifically for the Borat segment....His comedy may not suit a lot of people, but it is quite entertaining watching him improv and compose himself as an absolute idiot in front of People who have no idea on what the hell is going on.. The movie was pretty damn funny if you ask me...there was some pretty childish humor but it had a lot of hidden messages geared towards the west. It lost its momentum towards the end of due to the repetition of jokes he uses over and over......although i enjoyed it very much, I expected much more of Borat.....
hambon rating= B
hambon rating= B
