Fourteen years ago, Borat Sagdiyev made a moviefilm about America to benefit his glorious nation of Kazakhstan. The documentary brought him great shame, and, after being forced into labor, he travels back to America with his daughter to learn more about the American culture, the COVID-19 pandemic and the political elections.

Sacha Baron Cohen has had many characters he has created and played in past years, but Borat is without a doubt the most famous. “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” is a timeless film and probably always will be. “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” goes in the exact opposite direction and ties itself to the current time, and the relevance could hurt it. It has a very tight bar with how far it attempts to go with certain jokes. The first film felt very loose and free-willing with what it was going to do. Perhaps that’s because Cohen is now famous and Borat is an established character. Had Borat been introduced to the public for the first time in 2020, the humor would’ve never flown. The bar has been raised, and people find many things a lot less things shocking these days.

Now everyone knows who Borat is, so he needed to disguise himself to “get the job done,” – meaning you’re not exactly watching Borat. You’re watching Sacha Baron Cohen dress up in random costumes, some of which aren’t very convincing. You see him dress up as Donald Trump to crash the CPAC conference with Mike Pence attending, along with an anti-mask rally and much more. The primary plot of the film is that Borat needs to deliver his daughter to someone in the President’s cabinet as a gift to form a relationship between the United States and Kazakhstan. Mike Pence is the first person he sets his eyes on, but that never works out. The only scene we actually see of Pence is in the trailer, but there was nothing that could’ve been done to extend his role.

This is where Borat chooses to venture out to find former mayor of New York City and the President’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. I just need to applaud the effort put into this film; his daughter Tutar, played by newcomer Maria Bakalova, is disguised as a real reporter, and Cohen even said in an interview with Good Morning America that people were gullible enough to let her into the White House!

The climax of the film is something that will be talked about for a long time. Bakalova sets up an interview with Giuliani in a private hotel room, where later on she is brought into the bedroom by Giuliani where he asks for her phone number and address. He then proceeds to untuck his shirt and reach his hands into his pants. Seconds later, Borat interrupts the two to get his daughter out of there. I really wish Amazon kept this scene a secret because it would have been a hundred times more shocking than it actually was. My jaw dropped! What could’ve even happened had Cohen come out of the closet a minute later or Giuliani’s security team never even let him in? Cohen did say that he was very worried during the scene, but he was communicating with Bakalova through text; it still could’ve gone horribly wrong. These people, not just Giuliani, don’t know they’re being filmed so one shot is all they had. Had something gone wrong before they compromised Rudy, game over. That aside, Bakalova does an incredible job! Not only being great because of the assistance of and great chemistry with Sacha Baron Cohen, she also holds her own against him in some terrific scenes they have together as well as separate. The film ends on a terrific note with the father and daughter both as news journalists back in Kazakhstan. If a “Borat Three” ever happens, I hope she returns. I see a very nice future in Hollywood for her.

Now, there’s going to be controversial opinions behind the film because it primarily targets jokes towards a single group but in a satirical, Borat style. Whether I was offended by some or not, I was laughing all throughout, although some gags may have been executed in poor taste. The split in audience opinion is where this movie may be hurt as a result. Cohen’s purpose is not to target the soft conservatives. He’s leveling up to groups like anti-maskers, people who think COVID-19 is a hoax and QAnon. Speaking of QAnon, in the film a disguised Cohen lived with two members for weeks. These two people bring up disturbing conspiracy theories such as Hillary Clinton drinks children’s blood. In the same interview with Good Morning America, Cohen said, “there were a couple of QAnon conspiracy theorists I lived with who actually are good people who just have adopted some very negative conspiracy theories that are being propagated by social media and by the Trump presidency.” The first Borat had a hidden message, which was basically just him holding up a mirror to American society the entire time. Well, it’s 2020, and he’s doing it again; he’s trying to find the humanity inside everyone that shows there is a real unity within Americans after all. I just wish he showed those scenes regarding the conservatives. From the opposite side, we do get a very touching scene between Bakalova and a black woman discussing Borat’s choice to give her plastic surgery. Side-note: there is another very nice scene including a Holocaust survivor who passed away between the time of the film’s release and when it was filmed. Her estate is suing the film for including her in the movie, although I think her part was incredibly important. In the end, it was made out to be a discriminatory joke, but it changed Borat’s perspective on Jewish people.

When it comes to Sacha Baron Cohen’s opportunities during awards season, it is crucial that “Borat Subsequent Film: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” succeeds on a level that pleases Oscar voters. Many voters normally don’t get behind controversy, and Borat is an extremely controversial character, so I wouldn’t be able to predict what outcome there is for him. Overall, had the predecessor not been so brilliant in its originality, this would’ve been a superior film; although, I do think it is replicated in a spectacular way.

Final Grade: B+