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Review

So much American satire falls under the category of "preaching to the converted"... especially in the political arena, where Bush or Hilary jabs are rarely seen outside of the insular left/right wing cultures. Amazingly, Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat, one of the most vicious sneak-attacks on American culture to ever hit cinemas, managed to cross over into the mainstream and even be embraced by the middle of the road. It played in Peoria, but we're not sure if they got it.

A faux documentary so immersive that only Cohen, a few actors and the camera operators were in on the joke, Borat's shock value comes as much from its raunchiness as the blatant intolerance of the Americans who (willingly!) appear in it. Cohen (a Brit who rarely makes public appearances as himself) plays a Kazach TV personality on a tour of the U.S. to learn about our culture, and boy does he ever. He uncovers homophobia, racism, anti-semitism and sexism in horrifying amounts, enough to make the laughter quite painful. Ever the expert comedian, Cohen is smart enough to balance this with raunchy jokes about Pamela Anderson, public nudity and the lengths people will go to be polite in the face of Borat's unbelievable density. And yes, the nude wrestling scene is an all-time slapstick classic.

 -- David Gorgos