10 Recent Movies That Surprised EVERYONE
4. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
The mere existence of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm was itself a total surprise, given that Sacha Baron Cohen shot the film in secret during the height of the pandemic.
Though Cohen was spotted dressed up as Borat last summer, speculation of Borat 2 was dubious at best until reports emerged last September that the film had already been shot and was being screened for various studios.
At the end of September, Amazon confirmed that Borat Subsequent Moviefilm would release less than a month later, shortly before the U.S. presidential election.
Considering that almost 15 years had passed since the release of the original Borat, few had expected to see a follow-up ever materialise, let alone in a year as pervasively chaotic as 2020.
But it was ultimately the perfect storm for Cohen to deliver a delirious, relevant sequel which encouraged viewers to get out there and vote, all while slinging as much mud as possible at President Donald Trump and anyone in his orbit (namely Mike Pence and Rudy Giuliani).
The surprises didn't stop there, though: the plot, which was effectively cobbled together during production, encompassed the pandemic itself, and climaxed with an outrageous final cameo from Tom Hanks, who the film implies was infected with COVID-19 by Borat himself.
Though many were worried that a belated Borat sequel would join the unfortunate pantheon of years-too-late comedy sequels lacking the punch of the original, that wasn't the case at all.
Better still, it ended up receiving two Oscar nominations - Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for the film's breakout performer, Maria Bakalova.