Merrick waters his Death Blossoms...
The Last Starfighter (who was recently recruited by the Star League to defend The Frontier against the forces of Xur and the Kodan armada), sent in this message from a screening of BORAT (I once knew a girl who had that, I think).
If a Star League inductee had a chance to see one last film before getting whisked away in one of those damn flying DeLoreans, I suppose BORAT would be one of the better choices!
Here’s Starfighter…
You know what I love? Whenever you go to an early/free screening of a movie, some guy stands up at the front of the room, smiles, and informs everyone that they're "one of the very first audiences to see this movie!" And yes, this is always given as an exclamatory statement, and then for some reason the man begins to applaud, thus forcing us, the audience, to continue with wild applause...as if our ability to pull ourselves to Warner Bros. to attend a free screening is something we need to applaud ourselves for.
In any case, why I found this extra funny yesterday, is that this was my 3rd chance to see an early screening of "Borat." Hardly "the first ever audience," and in fact I have now seen the movie twice.
There are many things i can say about the "Borat" movie (which by the way actually has a rediculously long title that I can't remember), but only one word comes to mind: fuckinamazing. It really is THAT good. From beginning to end, this is one of the most solid comedy films ever made. It's extremely offense, incredibly immature, and there are a few specific disgusting moments, but it's all done in this brilliant way where though Borat is definetly racist, a chauvinist, etc, I found myself rooting for him. This is at it's core a road picture, where at the end of the road, there's a goal. Borat has to get to California, for a reason I don't want to give away, and if he doesn't his heart will be broken. You want him to succeed. You want him to get there. You go through the whole emotional spectrum with Borat. You're extremely happy for him, you're scared for him, and you care for him. Yes, he's an ignorant close-minded man, but he doesn't know any better, and somehow Larry Charles (the director) pulls off this love for him that makes him one of the most endearing characters of all time.
I cannot explain the plot of the movie because much of the humor relies on the uncertainty of Borat's mission, but I will say it's genius. During my second viewing there was a point in my head where I was completely gushing over this film. I thought about how lucky we are that the makers of "Borat" came together, completely unafraid of the outside world, and made a picture that is so unbelievably well constructed, and so willing to complete it's own mission...to just be funny. This is something most modern comedies have difficulty doing, simply being funny. This does it and then some.
Which leads me to my next point, just how laugh-out-loud funny this movie actually is. I don't think I've laughed this hard at a film in what seems like years. It is relentless in it's comedic attacks. One after another, joke after joke, with such little breathing time. There is a point in this film, both times I've seen it, where it physically hurt to laugh as hard as I was laughing. My head actually hurt. I get lightheaded when I see this movie. It's amazing. I can't even compare it to any other film viewing experience.
I'm going to leave you with a prediction, so some lowly nerd can look back at this review and think, "he got it right." This movie's going to be HUGE. Godzilla HUGE (not the movie's box-office take, but the actual size of the King of the Mosters). If this movie was released now, as is, still ever so controversial, than this will be one of the biggest movies EVER. "Borat" goes way beyond the humor of "Da Ali G Show." It is the kind of stuff legends are made of.
I can't say enough good things about this movie. I hope it gets released as is, with an extremely hard R rating. The film gods are smiling down on us. This is a rare film. One that needs to see the light of day. Let's make those gods happy. They haven't been smiling in awhile. And from what I've heard about M:I 3, it's going to be a good year. 2006 - A Film Year That Will Go Down In Infamy.
