It was odd but enticing. A few days ago, I received an email from someone I did not know, reading: "We wanna invite you to a surprise screening in Cannes... we'll send you more information in a few days." I asked what it was, when it was, and never found out. Until early Tuesday, when it was announced that Fox Searchlight would host a special word-of-mouth screening for the anticipated comedy, Borat, an adaptation of Sacha Baron Cohen's popular HBO character from his Ali G. Show.

So, on Tuesday night, an audience of industry folks and students from the American Pavilion, gathered together to watch this "work-in-progress." The film we saw seemed fairly complete, and I hope that it is, because it was damn near perfect. Funny, offensive, and timely, Borat could become the kind of college-campus classic that speaks to the tasteless teenager in us all. I won't spoil much of the details - and there are plenty of hilarious details - but the premise revolves around Kazakhstani TV personality Borat assigned with a producer and cameraman to visit New York City and document American culture for his "developing nation" audience back home. He meets with and interviews unassuming real people, like a humor coach and a feminists' group, who are unaware they are being played for laughs by a British comedian's alter ego.

While in New York, some late-night channel surfing has Borat stumble upon an episode of Baywatch. He becomes infatuated with Pamela Anderson and decides that he must take his TV project to Los Angeles so that they can be united. Switching gears, he and his team purchase an ice cream truck and drive it cross-country. Along the way, they continue to document the clueless Americans they encounter, including a frustrated driving instructor, a Southern etiquette coach, some drunken frat boys, Evangelical churchgoers, and much more. Believe it or not, this sketch-turned-feature actually sustains itself, as Cohen and director Larry Charles blend in real interview moments with scripted scenes involving Borat and his crew. Plus, the Pamela Anderson storyline gives a thread for all these seemingly random events. Look out for the film this Fall, when Borat comes to America. I can't wait to see it again.

This is good to hear because as much as I love the Ali G. character on the show, I didn't think the Ali G. feature was anywhere near as good (though there were some hilarious moments, especially in Parliament). I'm glad to hear Borat is faring well in a feature.

Sounds great - we cant wait for it here in the UK! There have been no pre screenings of Borat here yet!

Check out www.boyakasha.co.uk for loads of Borat + Ali G info :)

I get very excite.

Movie City Indie > NSFW: Borat in Cannes - Ali G. goes "R" in Cannes, totally half-nekkid in the guise of the Kazakh journo, Borat. Earlier, Matt Dentler this to say about its work-in-progress Croisette preview: "While in New York, some late-night channel surfing has Borat stumble upon an... (06/02/06)

Movie City Indie > NSFW: Borat in Cannes - Ali G. goes "R" in Cannes, totally half-nekkid in the guise of the Kazakh journo, Borat. Earlier, Matt Dentler wrote of its work-in-progress Croisette preview: "While in New York, some late-night channel surfing has Borat stumble upon an episode of... (06/02/06)

falling generator myspace object > falling generator myspace object - shit-happens 3602033 falling generator myspace object co (06/14/07)

artistic nude > artistic nude - shit-happens 3602033 artistic nude info and more (06/16/07)

msn name maker > msn name maker - shit-happens 3602033 Value information about msn name maker (06/25/07)

snake game > snake game - shit-happens 3602033 Variants of snake game. (06/27/07)

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

Name
Email
URL
Comments

Remember personal info?