Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

It has been 14 years since the first film, which saw the character used to highlight racism and intolerance, as well as the hypocrisy of the US system and culture (best highlighted by how New Yorkers threatened him with violence when he simply wanted to hug them or introduce himself on the subway, yet when they stopped off at night in a ‘rough’ area to speak with a group of black youths, Borat found them welcoming and happy to share fashion tips etc with him to make him cooler) – well, it seems the country hasn’t progressed much since, and whilst initially you wonder whether the world really needs a Borat sequel, it turns out we did.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (which has three different sub-titles) catches up with the character after his return to Khazikstan was met with humility and shame, with him being imprisoned for bringing mocking shame to the country. However, he is given a new assignment – go back to the USA and gift Michael Pence with a prize monkey as a token of the country support for Trump. Sadly the monkey doesn’t make it, but Borats feral daughter, Tutar, sneaks along, so he decides to gift her instead. Cue stunts involving her getting makeovers and learning how to act in polite society, with Borat having to adopt costumes due to his fame since the first film, all leading to the political stunts later in the film, and the catching out of key people in key places.

Embarrassingly funny, and shockingly eye-opening once again, whilst there are obvious scripted moments (much like the first film) there are the genuine public stunts, and once again there are genuine laughs. In addition there is a genuine charm and heart in the film, with Borat’s building a relationship with the daughter he never knew he had – and Maria Bakalova is the genuine stand-out star of the film as she moves from feral subservient girl to someone finding their sense of identity.