The Dictator
3/4
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, Jason Mantzoukas
Rated R for Strong Crude and Sexual Content, Brief Male Nudity, Language and Some Violent Images
With "Borat" and "Bruno," Sacha Baron Cohen proved himself to be a master satirist. He fearlessly exposed the most embarrassing aspects of American culture while keeping his audiences in stitches. Cohen knows no shame and there's nothing that he won't do (the MPAA excepting) for a laugh. But with his TV show and his first two films, Cohen used the documentary format as a way of confronting these truths. With his new film, "The Dictator," Cohen opts for a more traditional film medium: using professional actors and filming techniques. Although not as ferociously funny as his previous features, it's still good for some chuckles and a few big laughs.
General Aladeen (Cohen) is the dictator of the small African country of Wadiya. He's a narcissist to the extreme, obscenely wealthy and will kill anyone who screws up in even the slightest way. In fact, it's safe to say that he's probably less of a parody than he seems. In any event, Wadiya is threatened with military force unless he speaks to the United Nations about his nuclear weapons program. Aladeen arrives, but he's kidnapped by the US Government. After escaping, he has to find a way to survive alone and stop his adviser, Tamir (Kingsley), from instituting democracy so he can get big payouts from the oil companies. And he has a little romance with the earthy Zoey (Faris) along the way.
Before I get to criticizing the film, let me state upfront that I do recommend the film. It contains frequent laughs, some of which are very big. These days, that's a rare thing. "The Dictator" only really suffers in comparison to Cohen's previous films. Additionally, the jokes, while funny, aren't particularly revealing about anything and they lack the edge that Cohen's "faux-documentaries" had.
That being said, I think this would have worked better in a faux-documentary type film like "Borat" or "Bruno." Making it as a fictional narrative piece makes it seem more rehearsed and less real. While it's probable that a lot of the people needing to be interviewed would realize that it's Cohen, why not use fictional characters played by unknowns as the fictional talking heads? Most people, sadly, won't know the difference. Cohen does have fun with newscasts, particularly at the end, where the newscasters are analyzing his gross behavior. And Cohen does get some big laughs by being crude and gross. And of course, he gets some pointed remarks about dictatorships.
Apart from Cohen, the only actors who have any real screen-time are Anna Faris, who's no stranger to playing hilariously naiive characters ("Scary Movie," anyone?) and Jason Mantzoukas, as Aladeen's former nuclear scientist. Faris is good; she manages to submerge herself into the character. Mantzoukas is an unknown, which helps a lot. Ben Kingsley, however, is miscast. This is one exception where a character actor would have been better. John C. Reilly is on hand for two scenes as Aladeen's torturer, while Megan Fox and Edward Norton are willing to play along with the joke.
Cohen brings back director Larry Charles, who was at the helm for "Borat" and "Bruno." He tries to keep the film as documentary-like as possible, and it works on that level. But I have to wonder how much better and edgier it could have been if Cohen had been allowed to use the same format as the last film using unknowns. And had been willing to push the boundaries farther.
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, Jason Mantzoukas
Rated R for Strong Crude and Sexual Content, Brief Male Nudity, Language and Some Violent Images
With "Borat" and "Bruno," Sacha Baron Cohen proved himself to be a master satirist. He fearlessly exposed the most embarrassing aspects of American culture while keeping his audiences in stitches. Cohen knows no shame and there's nothing that he won't do (the MPAA excepting) for a laugh. But with his TV show and his first two films, Cohen used the documentary format as a way of confronting these truths. With his new film, "The Dictator," Cohen opts for a more traditional film medium: using professional actors and filming techniques. Although not as ferociously funny as his previous features, it's still good for some chuckles and a few big laughs.
General Aladeen (Cohen) is the dictator of the small African country of Wadiya. He's a narcissist to the extreme, obscenely wealthy and will kill anyone who screws up in even the slightest way. In fact, it's safe to say that he's probably less of a parody than he seems. In any event, Wadiya is threatened with military force unless he speaks to the United Nations about his nuclear weapons program. Aladeen arrives, but he's kidnapped by the US Government. After escaping, he has to find a way to survive alone and stop his adviser, Tamir (Kingsley), from instituting democracy so he can get big payouts from the oil companies. And he has a little romance with the earthy Zoey (Faris) along the way.
Before I get to criticizing the film, let me state upfront that I do recommend the film. It contains frequent laughs, some of which are very big. These days, that's a rare thing. "The Dictator" only really suffers in comparison to Cohen's previous films. Additionally, the jokes, while funny, aren't particularly revealing about anything and they lack the edge that Cohen's "faux-documentaries" had.
That being said, I think this would have worked better in a faux-documentary type film like "Borat" or "Bruno." Making it as a fictional narrative piece makes it seem more rehearsed and less real. While it's probable that a lot of the people needing to be interviewed would realize that it's Cohen, why not use fictional characters played by unknowns as the fictional talking heads? Most people, sadly, won't know the difference. Cohen does have fun with newscasts, particularly at the end, where the newscasters are analyzing his gross behavior. And Cohen does get some big laughs by being crude and gross. And of course, he gets some pointed remarks about dictatorships.
Apart from Cohen, the only actors who have any real screen-time are Anna Faris, who's no stranger to playing hilariously naiive characters ("Scary Movie," anyone?) and Jason Mantzoukas, as Aladeen's former nuclear scientist. Faris is good; she manages to submerge herself into the character. Mantzoukas is an unknown, which helps a lot. Ben Kingsley, however, is miscast. This is one exception where a character actor would have been better. John C. Reilly is on hand for two scenes as Aladeen's torturer, while Megan Fox and Edward Norton are willing to play along with the joke.
Cohen brings back director Larry Charles, who was at the helm for "Borat" and "Bruno." He tries to keep the film as documentary-like as possible, and it works on that level. But I have to wonder how much better and edgier it could have been if Cohen had been allowed to use the same format as the last film using unknowns. And had been willing to push the boundaries farther.
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