That thing where I haven’t seen a movie in forever? I aim to remedy that. In fact, I’ve already made a bit of a start. Of course, my start was kind of unexpected, in that I went to see a movie based on a character from Da Ali G Show, which I thoroughly disliked the one time I watched it. But it was a group friend outing, and I haven’t been to anything in so long that I went for it. Plus, the previews have amused me from time to time. Plus plus, I read a review of it by someone I trust, which let me know that despite the majority of the people on film not being aware it’s fake, there is still a coherent plot during which characters grow and change. Well, okay, that might be taking things a bit far, but the plot is coherent.

Our hero, Kazakhstani newsman Borat Sagdiyev, has been sent by his country to America to film a documentary that will use us as an example to teach them how to become a great country that can overcome its problems (economic, social, and Jew). Along the way he meets a lot of people, demonstrates that they are perhaps even more racist and sexist than he is, and falls in love. Except, of course, that the joke is on all the people he encounters, because he’s only pretending, and they really, really aren’t. It’s a weird movie, in that I spent equal time laughing and cringing, sometimes at myself for laughing. I’m going to steal the metaphor that sold me on the movie, though, as it explains it better than anything new I could come up with. Sacha Baron Cohen is playing a game, with his subjects and with the audience. It is possible to win the game, but only by either rejecting most everything that he claims to stand for, or else by understanding the joke and spending most of your time laughing (but still cringing, a little, for the sake of humanity) at the people who are losing the game. And my word, how easy it was for him to find people willing to step up and lose big. And without even the excuse of not knowing they were on film at the time.

In any case, I can easily see why it’s not for everyone, as nearly all of the humor has the potential to make you uncomfortable. But Borat the character is endearing despite how awful he is, and unlike most of the folks whose path he crosses, he even seems to come out of his journey a slightly better person. As, one hopes, will most of the people leaving the theater.