Yes, this movie has been hyped up a dizzying amount in the weeks leading up to its release last week and especially after it hit number one at the box office on only 800 screens nation-wide. It gets wider release this week and it deserves it and all the hype that surrounds it. You will not find a funnier movie this year and you may be hard-pressed to find a funnier movie in the last 10 years. “Borat” is a hilarious look at America and the world through the eyes of a brilliant satirist and his fantastically well-conceived and constructed character.

Borat Sagdiyev is a television personality in Kazakhstan and he has been hired by his government to go to America and learn things that can help his homeland, which according to the intro, can use all the help it can get. Initially Borat is supposed to remain in New York City and interview people, like a comedy teacher and feminists, but upon seeing an episode of “Baywatch,” Borat falls in love with Pamela Anderson and decides he must find and marry her. This prompts the reporter and his producer, a burly and slightly disturbing man named Azamat, to travel across the country to California, learning about more aspects of American culture on the way.

It may be a loose plot but it has more emotional resonance than one would expect from a movie based on a sketch comedy character. The great thing about this movie is that while Borat learns things about America, so does the audience, mainly just how scary some people in this country are. Borat gets these things on the screen by just being himself; a friendly, racist, misogynistic male, and he often gets people to say outrageous things without any prompting. For instance, a rodeo promoter tells Borat he looks like an Arab and should shave his mustache to look more Italian. He goes on to say more disparaging things about Arabs, homosexuals and more, all before Borat says one word. A scene with frat boys getting drunk in an RV is equally as terrifying and hilarious.

Though the movie often will startle the audience with just how far Borat and the people he talks to cross the line, it remains consistently funny and it would be unfair to give away any of the events that transpire. Just know that while the humor touches on racist and sexist remarks, Sacha Baron Cohen, the creator and portrayer of Borat, is in on the joke and is hoping you are too. The jokes show how ridiculous racism and sexism are.

But do not mistake “Borat” for a message movie. Its goal is to make the audience laugh and it does so for much of the duration of the film. There were only a few short breaks from constant laughter and my throat felt raw when the movie was done. It is R-rated and deservedly so, but if you are looking for solid laughs this weekend, this is the film to see.

****1/2

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