“Borat” received a lot of attention when it came out. It was criticised by many for its crude humour but many praised it, claiming it was a great comedy but I myself am in the middle of the pack. To me, “Borat” is foul, disgusting yet at times, it is amusing. It sometimes overuses the grossness and that’s its downfall.

“Borat” is another secret camera movie like “Jackass: The Movie”. It’s about Kazakhstani reporter Borat (Sacha Baron Cohen “Bruno”) and his ill-fated trip to America. He offends Jews, gun lovers, churchgoers, feminists and just about everybody else while trying to make his way to celebrity Pamela Anderson from tv’s “Baywatch” so he can kidnap her and take her as his wife.

Borat is as unpleasant as they come and that sometimes works but he goes too far. He’s basically Mr. Bean meets Johnny Knoxville and that’s the problem. I don’t mind it when he insults a few women or drives an ice-cream truck with a bear in it but the vulgarity involved in his displays of nudity and toilet humour is simply not funny. I’m shocked that Baron Cohen attempted some of the things here because I know I’d have dished out something painful if he’d have done this stuff to me.

“Borat” has a few good scenes here and there and I kind of like the whole film’s presentation and style but ultimately, it becomes just a shock fest. Many of the gags aren’t done in a remotely playful tone. This isn’t a cartoon, these are real people and some of the time you get the sense that this just isn’t funny, it’s merely cruel. I enjoyed the part where Borat struggles to make a ‘not joke’ but the same sequence also features a part where he talks in detail about a child’s sexual organs. It’s dull and nasty.