Gareth's Top Ten Comedies of the 21st Century (So Far)
#3 Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
Controversy courting Sacha Baron Cohens second big screen outing righted most of the wrongs of Ali G Indahouse. Kazakhstans most famous son Borat Sagdiyevs journey across America is a work of comedy genius. Continuing the format that made Cohens TV programmes so successful: exposing prejudices and making supposedly intelligent people look ignorant, uninformed and out and out stupid, Borat is dually hilarious and uncomfortable viewing. The plot sees Borat deviate from his fact finding mission in the US to go off in search of Pamela Anderson who he hopes to make sexy time with after he sees her in an episode of Baywatch. The plot though is secondary to a series of very funny interviews and interactions with unsuspecting Americans and the most grotesque nude scene you may ever see courtesy of the films unsung hero: Borats producer Aazamat Bagatov (played by Ken Davitian). Nothing is sacred in Borat and you have to respect a comedy with balls that big, lawsuits abound after the films release and Cohen has managed to offend just about everyone, but if you ask me lawsuits and outrage invariably mean comedy gold.