I love the U.S. and A!

Holy crap…did I luck into a deal last night or what? Having been a fan of “Da Ali G Show” for several years now, I was excited as all hell when I heard that a movie based on my favorite character from the show — Borat — was being made. The trailer itself had me already planning a team event with the guys at work.

So when Seth told me that there was a sneak preview screening of the flick at an AMC here in Kansas City, I knew where I was going to be that night. And was I ever.

After a lengthy wait, a trip out to my car to drop my cell phone off (no recording devices of any kind were allowed into the theatre), more of a wait, the filling out of a pre-movie survey and more waiting, the lights dimmed and the hundred or so people in the theatre were given what they’d been waiting for — one of the most offensively funny movies I’ve ever seen in my life. Sacha Baron Cohen and his writing staff are geniuses.

The character Borat is a TV reporter from Kazakhstan whose fascinated with learning the culture of “U.S. and A.” A typical Borat sketch finds him receiving training from a certified expert in whichever field he’s attempting to learn — from driving to etiquette to dating — and then interacting with others while putting his newfound knowledge to work. The comedy results, however, in the reactions from those with whom he’s talking at the time due to his lack of understanding or when informing the locals about the customs back in Kazakhstan.

One of my favorite segments from the show involved him heading to Great Expectations, a matchmaking service. Meeting with an attractive woman named Jennifer, he works with her to fill out his profile. After being asked what personality traits he’d like to have in his ideal mate, Borat replies: “I want her to be blond, I want her to have no history of retardation in family, if possible she must have plough experience.” The matchmaker tries to convince him that American women are not going to have ploughing experience so Borat tells her that the woman can have “not much, maybe one year.” Unphased he continues with his traits list: “She must have good physique, she must be tight like a man’s anus, and she must have nice face.” Jennifer then asks him if he’s open to all races: “Yes, but no…uhh, no Jew.” Watch Borat’s facial expression after Jennifer is filling that portion of the questionnaire out. Beautiful.

Borat’s blatant Anti-Semitism plays a major role in some of the funnier moments in his sketches and is prominently featured in the movie. When this flicks hits the theatres on November 3rd you can bet your ass that there will be outrage from the Jewish community.

All in all, this movie met and exceeded my expectations. My 15-year old son Alex was with me for the screening and I’d not heard him laugh that hard in quite some time. Seth, too, was in stitches. I let my infamous “burst laugh” fly quite a few times as well. Simply put, this movie is hilarious. I cannot wait until it is released in November for I plan on seeing it again and again.

JinQui!