Y’all know I had been all set for weeks to take El Yenta Man to see Borat last night. I picked the closest theater (40 minutes away), booked the babysitter and figured we had just enough time for tapas and a martini before the 7:50 show.
But then El Yenta Man came home saying that several people at work all told him variations of the same thing: That while Borat was funny for a little while, they found it exploitive, and the derivation of humor from the humiliation of others made them feel “dirty.” Admittedly, one person I know used the exact same word “dirty” to describe his experience of the movie, but I figured he just didn’t get it because he’s not Jewish. Neither were any of the naysayers at El Yenta’s Man work. You Jewish readers who have admonished me for not seeing it yet is this a case of people not getting the joke or is it really that disturbing?
Since he was the birthday boy and all, he decided he didn’t want to feel dirty like that, anyway so we eschewed the tapas/martini plan and drove to a theater 20 minutes further to see Casino Royale, the new James Bond flick. And since he was the birthday boy and all, I chose not to remind him that we agreed not to see anymore James Bond movies because the last one sucked so hard.
I hoped maybe Daniel Craig’s presence would lend a fresh air to a tired, tired formula, but instead he had none of Pierce Brosnan’s debonair charm and IMHO comes off as a psychopathic head case with his heavy breathing and Aryan blue eyes. The movie was humorless, stupid and violent, made even more offensive by several extended sessions of straight gunfire in surround sound. I don’t care if Borat actually f*cks a sheep wearing Frederick’s of Hollywood lingerie on camera, nothing is more disturbing that someone having their testicles whipped by a one-eyed sadist on a screen 20 feet tall. Except maybe the blatant product placements wandering aimlessly through the film.
So suffice it to say El Yenta Man’s birthday was a bust: We paid for five hours’ worth of babysitting fo Taco Bell and a bad movie. Next year, we’ll go bowling. Maybe by then Borat will be out on DVD…sigh.
To answer your questions, yes, no, and no!
Borat IS dirty, outrageous, shocking, and as my friend described in one word: “disturbing”. Yes it has some scenes that no human being should have to witness but one thing that Borat has is the genuine, unscripted, nutty behaviour and reactions that are lacking from most Hollywood films these days. You need to have a solid gut to stomach some of the gags in Borat but you will never less experience something that other films fail to deliver, originality and uncharted humor. I like how Borat turns anti-semitism into nothing more than tinfoil hat conspiracy nuttery, thus discrediting any future rants and accusations by the anit-jew wackos, less they be compared to Borat himself. As far as the movies goes, you can catch it on DVD in the comfort of your own home, just make sure the kids are MILES away… seriously, send them to Nashville for the weekend, shield their Innocent eyes (and possibly yours).
Now, as far as Casino Royale is concerned, I personally thought it was one of my favorite bond movies of the last 20 years. It made some of the other Bond movies look like cartoons compared to this one. Honestly, Pierce Brosnan in an invisible car? How do you top the invisible car? I’m glad they brought back some grit and realism to this new flick. But it all depends on your taste.
Basically, Borat would be worth watching in the theater for the sake of experiencing the one-man madness with an audience of strangers. I felt like the laughter, excitement, and the agonizing screams from the folks around me enhanced gags on the screen.
Just my 2 cents. Enjoy!
I say both movies are offensive! Don’t support violence. Borat wasn’t that funny because all the jokes have been re-told so many times. Lobby for better movies!
Yenta: the several nearly-naked scenes with Daniel Craig made up for a LOT, at least in my mind. Although it did make me wish that I knew more about poker.