All other countries are run by little girls

Those of you who don’t know me personally, and I perhaps naively choose to believe that some of you that read this site DO indeed fit that category, should know some things about me. I am not Jewish, female, homosexual, Uzbek, native American, an evangelical Christian, black, a former star of TV’s Baywatch, southern, or a prostitute. None of them. And, as such, I wasn’t too offended by ‘Borat’, the film currently sweeping the critics, the box office, Best Week Ever, and, uh, John Mayer’s thoughts.

The first half of the film was merely quite funny, mostly because much of it was regurgitated from ‘Da Ali G Show’ – most noticeably the interview with an etiquette specialist – and also because the media frenzy over the last couple of weeks has caused the clips to be played on TV repeatedly. Not that the driving lesson scene isn’t funny, it’s just not as funny as it was the first time, although when he shouts “Suck my shit!” at a fellow motorist, it’s hilarious.

The second half, though, where an actual story sort of develops, is terrific. There are three really great scenes, involving frat boys on an RV, evangelicals at a super-church, and finally, that chick from Barb Wire. The laughs come thick and fast. As you may have already heard, your enjoyment of the film will depend greatly upon how you feel about naked, hairy men wrestling.

There’s been talk after seeing the film about how much of it was scripted, and I’ve heard people use that as criticism. I don’t really agree that it lessens the film if some of the scenes are staged, it’s still funny as aw’hell, and there’s at least three parts where he would have got arrested or stabbed or arrested and stabbed. All the laughs you need, and at the end the line “Everyone knows that iPod Minis are for girls!” and a cheesy romantic ending – I think? – make this a great comedy. Not the funniest film ever made, but certainly very funny. Funniest of the year? What other good comedies were there this year though?

Go and see it, just don’t take your grandparents to see it with you.