Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)

Directed by Jason Woliner. Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Maria Bakalova, Jeanise Jones, Judith Dim Evans, Dani Popescu. [R]

Satirist Sacha Baron Cohen returns to the жақсы for this belated (and not altogether necessary) sequel to his 2006 cultural touchstone hit. After spending fourteen years in a gulag as punishment for dishonoring his home country, the titular journalist is sent back to the States to redeem Kazakhstan; since the “character” is so recognizable now, however, he spends most of the movie in various disguises and lets his daughter (Bakalova)—who smuggled herself into the country—get in on the fitful fun. Set up as an activist attack on the cult of misinformation and intolerance, but comes off more ardently as a tale of father-daughter bonding, which “makes benefit” from how irresistibly the roles are embodied by Cohen and breakout co-star Bakalova. A paradox of a parody, it’s more commercial and narrative-oriented yet more scattershot, more scripted/rehearsed yet less focused and creative in its satire, cruder but more sentimental, more political but less pointed (the easy targets from the first film are largely replaced by barrel-loads of fish, since making fools look foolish in the age of Trump/COVID is hardly a Herculean exercise). Not as fresh as the first, nor as provocative as intended, but still contains several very humorous episodes that should keep the Borat-faithful pleased. Features appearances from Mike Pence, Tom Hanks, and, most notoriously, Rudy Giuliani. Full title: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

65/100