Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs
4. Maria Bakalova's Star-Making Performance
Little-known Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova - credited in the film as "Irina Nowak" - is one of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm's easy highlights, proving such a skilled comic performer as to nearly steal proceedings away from Cohen at times.
As Borat's 15-year-old daughter - though, mercifully, the actress is actually 24 years of age - Bakalova is a vibrant and hilarious scene teammate for Cohen, allowing the pair to mine their awkward familial dynamic for every painful drop it's worth.
Focusing so much of the film on a young woman also allows Cohen to explore facets of American society he hasn't been able to before, such as the utility of feminism in modern society, and in a nauseating late-film sequence, the leering advances from old men that young women constantly have to deal with.
With any luck, the film will strap a rocket to Bakalova's career, because she's absolutely terrific in this.