Film Review – THE DICTATOR ★★★☆☆

I think its safe to say that you know what you are getting into when you commit to see a movie starring Sacha Baron Cohen. The man behind larger than life characters like Borat, Brüno, and Ali G headlines his newest farce with another outrageous persona, but leaves the documentary pretense behind for The Dictator. As hard as he may try, any future attempts at shooting a movie and fooling the common citizen while hiding behind a crazy caricature could be very well be near impossible considering the infamy Cohen has gained over the years through Brüno and Borat.

The actor not only plays his creations on the big screen, but manages to pummel the public by appearing in character to no end on promotional press circuit tours. Cohen went so far this year as to walk the Oscars Red Carpet as Admiral General Aladeen from The Dictator (plus another banner stunt appearance at the Cannes Film Festival).

What goes without saying is that The Dictator is not for the faint of heart or for those easily offended or of a stout politically correct state of mind. Cohen takes to playing on, and running with, every stereotype of Middle Eastern culture imaginable as he re-teams with his Borat and Brüno director Larry Charles.

As Admiral General Haffaz Aladeen, Cohen leaves little untouched concerning taking comic advantage of the themes of terrorist paranoia that have been instilled on the world since 9/11. And if you think for a moment that the very question “Is it okay yet to joke about 9/11?” would not be presented to you here as a moviegoer, you would be sadly mistaken. The guilty scene that takes place during a helicopter tour over the Hudson River (that is briefly teased in the trailer, so you know its coming), goes on far longer in the film.

The plot?  Cohen plays the pampered fascist dictator of the fictional North African country of Wadiya. When he is caught under the United Nation’s radar for attempting to enter the nuclear arms race, he travels to the New York City with his trusted second in command and advisor, Uncle Tamir (Sir Ben Kingsley) to assure the council that there are no weapons of mass destruction to be found. Tamir botches an arranged kidnapping and assassination of Aladeen, who then finds himself shaved of his beard and wandering the streets of NYC unable to prove who he really is. Tamir replaces him with one of his lookalike peasant body doubles with plans to have him sign a not-so-benevolent declaration of democracy for Wadiya.

The talented Anna Faris is caught up here unfortunately in a near thankless role as Zoey, a NYC vegan social activist with a pixie haircut, unshaven armpits, and happens to represent everything in a female that the sexist Aladeen has come to suppress. He is a ruler after all who is accustomed to paying to bed celebrities like Megan Fox and Katy Perry. Zoey’s insufferable differences to Aladeen of course means he will inevitably fall for her as she becomes the unlikely key for the fallen leader to one up his turncoat former confidant. Sir Ben Kingsley adds the proper bravado to his role as Aladeen’s would be over-thrower, but every now again you have to double back when you realize it’s Sir Ben Kingsley playing along as the straight man in this vulgar comedy. Megan Fox and John C. Reilly also have memorable quick cameos that add to the fun.

There isn’t much here I can say to either sell the film to new viewers or keep away those who will see The Dictator no matter what. But Baron Cohen has easily added another notch on his belt in between his Borat and Brüno improvised ‘reality’ romps, and the solid scripted performances he’s done in Hugo, Sweeney Todd, and Talladega Nights.

If you enjoy his level of classless humor, and I freely admit that I do, you will enjoy The Dictator. It flies by at a scant 83 minutes and there are easily numerous genuine gems and moments throughout the film you will laugh out loud at. Is it offensively hilarious at times? Completely. You may, and should, even feel guilty for some of the laughs (Aladeen plays a Wii version of the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre). Some zingers hit harder than others, and at times its disappointing when the low brow jokes sink so low when the film is completely capable of playing it smart at times. But overall The Dictator delivers and there is more than enough here to keep fans of The Baron entertained.

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