Thursday, July 19, 2012

The Dictator


The Dictator is a bit more proof that Sacha Baron Cohen is one of the great comedic talents of today, but it also isn't up to par with his works alongside this film's director, Larry Charles, such as Borat and Bruno. Cohen's performance as Admiral General Aladeen falls flat a bit (such as him just making up Arabic words), but there are many moments where his portrayal is absolutely hilarious. That sums up the script as well with many jokes that pale in comparison to others, but when they do work, they build and build and build to a high point. Cohen treats his comedy and characters with great care, but perhaps something like The Dictator doesn't play to his strengths. His co-stars are actual actors, there is a more streamlined script that gives the movie a typical plot involving romance and a case-of-mistaken-identity storyline, and this film ultimately doesn't come off as harsh of a satire as Borat was with racism and Bruno was with homophobia. It's still enjoyably offensive in the way that pokes fun of some many people, but the film isn't perhaps as humorous of a critique as one might expect and that is where Cohen seems to excel.

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