Borat

Can Sacha Baron Cohen be Borat and still tell the truth?

For a while now, Sacha Baron Cohen has had an issue with juggling multiple personas. On the one hand, as Borat, Bruno and his coterie of characters on “Who is America,” he is a cartoonish sounding board for America’s worst qualities. On the other, he is an increasingly serious out-of-character activist, a full-throated opponent of…

The Forward’s 2021 Oscars Quiz

This year’s Oscar nominees prove the Academy is more devoted to itself than to diversity

For the Academy, there was only room for one, wigged, weird-accented performance from Sacha Baron Cohen. Naturally, it went to the one scripted by Aaron Sorkin and dripping with sanctimony. The Oscars announced the full roster of nominees Monday morning, marking nearly a year without cinemas, exempting many of the top contenders from a theatrical…

‘My Cousin Vinny’ director thinks Giuliani could learn a lesson from his movie

Rudy Giuliani, the surprise star of “Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm” and Donald Trump’s personal attorney, alluded to another comedy classic at his already-infamous news conference. Shortly before hair dye streamed down his face, and he, predictably, implicated George Soros in helping orchestrate large-scale voter fraud, Giuliani asked the gaggle in attendance if they had seen the…

How ‘Borat’ got its sound — an interview with Erran Baron Cohen

Growing up, Erran Baron Cohen and his younger brother, Sacha, would entertain their parents’ guests during Shabbos at their home in London. “Me and Sacha were often quite bored actually,” Baron Cohen said. “We used to make up funny songs on the piano for our own amusement. One was called ‘Schvitzin”, which was about Jews…

Borat defends Rudy Giuliani over ‘Borat’ scandal

Rudy Giuliani has a new champion in his latest scandal: His name-a Borat. Thursday night, shortly before the final presidential debate and the early release of “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev posted a video on his Twitter to defend Giuliani against claims of impropriety arising from a scene in the “Borat” sequel. “What…

‘Borat 2’ is a riot, but slandering a nation’s history goes too far

Borat was never a victimless enterprise. In “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America,” the Kazakh journalist invited an RV full of frat brothers to reminisce about the days of slavery (they needed zero prompting, save for their companion’s foreign, sympathetic presence). More troublingly, a kindly Jewish couple operating a kosher bed and breakfast provided the venue…