This movie tries to capture the magic of the original, but it fails. Just as in the first one, Borat is an idiot journalist ignorant of American culture and deriding it, by first feigning ignorance and then enthusiastically embracing as American the more fringe (and mainstream) elements of it. But whereas the first movie strikes gold because it really does make fun of the more irrational and willingly ignorant parts of American culture, this second one fails because it focuses almost entirely on politics --- and worse, it takes sides.
One could perhaps defend this second movie by observing that politics has been, in recent years, the driving force of American culture, spilling over into all facets of American life, and displacing whatever culture existed with rabid tribalism. Thus, the argument goes, any movie about the culture of the recent years would by necessity have to be about politics. Perhaps. But whereas the first movie boldly derided the cultural norms of all types of Americans by pretending to see them through the unbiased eyes of a very poor country, this second movie seems interested in only making fun of one kind of American: the Republican kind, especially if politically famous. The first movie's genius was in not respecting any Americans. This second movie is merely routine because it embraces one kind of American in its war against the other.
Oh, yes. And just like the first one this movie is way too obscene.
Review by ltcomdataBlockedParent2021-02-06T22:26:19Z
This movie tries to capture the magic of the original, but it fails. Just as in the first one, Borat is an idiot journalist ignorant of American culture and deriding it, by first feigning ignorance and then enthusiastically embracing as American the more fringe (and mainstream) elements of it. But whereas the first movie strikes gold because it really does make fun of the more irrational and willingly ignorant parts of American culture, this second one fails because it focuses almost entirely on politics --- and worse, it takes sides.
One could perhaps defend this second movie by observing that politics has been, in recent years, the driving force of American culture, spilling over into all facets of American life, and displacing whatever culture existed with rabid tribalism. Thus, the argument goes, any movie about the culture of the recent years would by necessity have to be about politics. Perhaps. But whereas the first movie boldly derided the cultural norms of all types of Americans by pretending to see them through the unbiased eyes of a very poor country, this second movie seems interested in only making fun of one kind of American: the Republican kind, especially if politically famous. The first movie's genius was in not respecting any Americans. This second movie is merely routine because it embraces one kind of American in its war against the other.
Oh, yes. And just like the first one this movie is way too obscene.