Il dittatore

I'm revisiting various comedies from the 2000s and 2010s to answer one question: why do American comedies taken such a nosedive as of late?

The Dictator may not be one of the decade's greatest comedies and was widely viewed as - to use a contemporary term - quite mid. Not too bad, nothing amazing. Yes, Baron Cohen has made better films and more enduring, interesting characters. Oddly, General Aladeen (the titular Dictator) comes off as a relic of a time past: we really don't have dictators quite like Muammar Gaddafi or Saddam Hussein - two men who are obvious inspirations to Cohen's eclectic, offensive, and frankly, hilarious character - anymore, do we?

There's also this tongue-in-cheek, "we can be offensive as we want" energy that I kind of love about this movie. Nowadays, even Cohen himself seems mindful of causing too much offense to the wrong groups. But back then, it really didn't matter: anyone was fair game. That, along with the film's anti-authoritarian leanings, makes it a celebration of free speech and expression. So much so that the film (intelligently) manages to criticize the democratic world and the United States in particular quite mercilessly.

There are some truly hilarious gags involving bodily humour to, as per Cohen's style. He can be very sophisticated and satirical, but go for a good masturbation or body hair or...um...phone inside a woman giving birth joke as well. This is not a movie that "elevates" itself from the things we all know are really funny, deep down.

The supporting cast is also really good here. Ben Kingsley was the perfect choice, Anna Faris has that face that conveys well meaning stupidity unlike any other actress in Hollywood, and Jason Mantzoukas...man, you could've told me he was an Iranian nuclear scientist and I'd believe you. I cannot accept that he's of "100% Greek heritage" (although, apparently he's long has an interest in the Middle East and has lived and studied there).

The movie isn't perfect. It gets a little silly at times and the jokes sometimes overstay their welcome. Its brand of humour isn't for everyone either. It also lacks the staying power of Cohen's other films and I think part of that has to do with the - likely studio - insistence that it be a romantic comedy. It doesn't really work, even if it is really funny.

Lesson Learned: Even a "mid" comedy from America's Comedic Golden Age is better than most comedies today. The Dictator is willing to piss everyone off and it ages like fine wine.

Most of the movie is pretty witty. The satire is crude and unfiltered, but most of it is pretty spot on. A bit like South Park stories but with bigger children.

The gross out humor however could have been way shorter. Some low hanging fruit lowest common denominator jokes were drawn out unnecessarily. I had to skip several 10 minute parts, but I missed none of the story anyway.

The love story part was forced. The suspension of disbelief was stretched so far it was almost painful.

Overall it was a reasonable story and I did laugh several times.

It could have used some extra editing and other extra care, then it would be a really good movie.

The non-stop jokes, off-color humor, slapstick and under 90 minute running time of "The Dictator" hearkens back to early Woody Allen gems like "What's Up Tiger Lily," "Take The Money and Run," "Bananas," and "Love and Death. And, in the world of comedy, that's quite a compliment.

Like Cohen, Allen's first films were often misunderstood. Some folks just did not get the joke. Many still don't get it today. The object of comedy has always been to take down the high and mighty by whatever means necessary. And, if you happen to be a Middle Eastern despot, you will find much to be offended by here. But, as Allen often did as well, Cohen uses racial and gender stereotypes to shine a light on people's attitudes, and that's likely to put off others as well. That's fine. Some comedy just isn't for everyone.

While his writing style owes much to Allen, his acting chops are also influenced heavily by one of Britain's greatest comics, Peter Sellers. You can see it in his outrageous accents and in his ridiculous pratfalls. Like Sellers, Cohen is fearless in his characterizations and, again, like Sellers, there will be those who will take offense in this. Again, not for everyone. But, if you laughed your butt off at Sellers' simpleton Indian character destroying a Hollywood party, you will be laughing here too.

And that's what we're talking about; laughs. Not every joke works. Many fall flat. But the film starts off fast and furious with a rapid succession of gags, most of which work hilariously, settles down for a bit and then takes off again, literally. His verbal sparring with co-star Jason Mantzoukas is one of the highlights as are many of the fun cameo appearances and a running joke about his name that I will not reveal here. There are many great sight gags that are easily missed and the appearance of his Efawadh character at the U.N. channels a scene right out of Allen's "Sleeper." There's a few scatological and sex jokes also (one about excrement, one about urination, one about masturbation, several about body parts), and these, if you ask me, are the low point of the film (except a child birth scene that's as funny as it is outrageous). But, the bodily fluid gags, so rampant in comedy films today, are actually few and far between. And there's a bit of a message, too.

We're not dealing with "Citizen Kane" here. But, then, this film made me laugh much more.

I saw a preview screening of this in London.

As expected from Sacha's previous outings and trailers, this film is in extremely bad taste with plenty of filth, blatant offence (disguised as naivety) of every race, gender, age, animal, disability, sexual orientations, terrorism and politics. Sacha gets away with it because no one is left out. No one, including white folks and straight men. Actually, I lie. I don't know how the hell he gets away with it. The important question is, though, is it funny? Yeah...mostly.

There are enough roll in the isle moments to make this worth the ticket but there are also plenty of misfired jokes too, some of which really makes you groan but that's to be expected for a relentless joke firing machine which incidentally has (perhaps mercifully) a short run time of 84mins.

Another burning question I ask myself, while watching this is do I feel guilty laughing at some of the offencive jokes? Yes I do, my guilty conscience raises its ugly head but then I realise (or perhaps I'm just making excuses) that I am laughing at the Dictator's naivety and hilarious sense of misplaced morality while others around him frown at his demeanours.

This is a departure from the Borat, Ali G, and Bruno stable. With those previous films, real people are sought after and ridiculed by scrutinising their reactions and moral bases. This film, however is purely fictitious, Naked Gun style comedy very much similar to Eddie Murphy's Coming to America with obviously a lot lot less subtlety. However, Sacha's Dictator has pretty much the same political correctness that Borat has but with more hilarious Dictatorship cravings such as executing anyone that annoys him.

A good supporting cast thankfully gives this zany film a little bit more variety, particularly Anna Francis, comically playing off the Dictator's character who frankly dominates almost every frame (as I guess a dictator would). John C Reilly also gives a short but hilarious turn. And then there are a few special cameo celebrity guest appearances (or victims, rather) sprinkled around.

There are a couple of moments political satire that stands out in hilarity and I wish there was more of it. Alas, it seems vulgarity is more favoured.

So if you have no guilty conscience, welcome vulgarity and all things "un-pc" with open arms, do not despise Sacha Cohen Baron and are willing to kiss his armpits (last one is optional), then I reckon you will enjoy this film. For me, filthy films are not my normal cup of tea, nevertheless I did enjoy this but I need a long shower after watching it.

I went to see this movie with my friend. I would consider that we both have a good sense of humor and are open to all sorts of jokes. I have seen other movies by Sacha Baron Cohen, like Bruno and Borat. I found Borat to be hilarious, but Bruno was a bit over the top for me. This movie strikes a balance between the two, but leans more towards (my personally favored) Borat side.

The comedy in this movie is both hilarious and uncomfortable at times. It has the same LOL- quality as it did in Borat, but there are scenes where the comedy is so crude that it is almost uncomfortable watching/listening to it. The movie is definitely funny, but you will not enjoy it if you do not find jokes about racism and stereotypes funny.

The plot is your typical Sacha Baron Cohen plot; a person from an entirely different culture travels to America and you watch how incompatible the two cultures are. Also, just like most of Sacha Baron Cohen movies, there is a love story intertwined. It's not the dramatic and sensitive kind of love story though. The plot itself is not very immersive, and I believe that its only purpose is to lead you to the funny parts.

I will say this though, the ending speech of this movie given by 'The Dictator' really impressed me. It made me realize how well Sacha Baron Cohen understands politics and stereotypes. You have to hear it for yourself.

If you're looking for a movie with consistent but crude laugh-out-loud comedy, but do not look for a serious and powerful plot, then you will enjoy this film. On the other hand, if you cringe at racist and stereotype jokes, you will be covering your ears virtually the entire movie.

Approach with an open mind.