Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

"It is often very funny and newcomer Maria Bakalova is a revelation, holding her own in the improvisatory scenes with expert Baron Cohen like a veteran."

"Baron Cohen’s risk-taking this time around is rewarded with a perfectly timed release (the film ends by urging American viewers to vote). A double-bill of this and Alex Gibney’s stunning and more sobering Totally Under Control couldn’t be more damning about the current disarray and disharmony in the “home of the brave”."

"As shocking as it is hilarious, as ridiculous as it is insightful, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is the comedy we both need and deserve right now."

"Borat 2 may not hit quite as many shocking comic highs as the first Borat, but it probably coheres more as a film — ironic, given that it appears to have been written, produced, and edited in record time, during a global crisis — and it also manages to walk a fine line between offense and revelation."

"Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is frequently funny and occasionally pointed, more than enough to recommend it as a comedy. It’s also another instance where doing things as they’ve always been done no longer feels like quite enough. The prejudices Baron Cohen exposes have become too fond of exposing themselves."

"His catchphrase notwithstanding, "Borat" isn't always very nice; indeed, the material is pointed, and occasionally guilty of working a little too hard to shock. In its best moments, though, the twisted mirror that Cohen holds up to America from a Borat's-eye-view is telling, and like the previous "moviefilm," very, very funny."

"It’s never quite as gut-bustingly funny as the 2006 original, but you get the sense that wasn’t what Cohen was going for. By simply holding a mirror up to the rampant hypocrisy, division and hatred across America and giving bigots the rope to hang themselves, Borat feels more relevant and necessary than ever."

"All of this is familiar but still surprisingly effective, and it’s highlighted by Baron Cohen’s onscreen partner Maria Bakalova, who ends up providing some of this mockumentary’s finest moments."

"Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is easily the funniest movie of 2020. That’s not exactly difficult in a year when there are barely any new comedies to challenge it for the title, but even in a year with stacked comedies, I’m confident this sequel would undeniably come out on top of the pack."

"Borat has lost none of his bite, treading that same fine line between sophomoric humor and pointed political satire."

"Borat Subsequent Moviefilm may not contain all of the shock and awe of the original, since exposing racists has sadly sort of become commonplace, but it still contains an avalanche of awkward, anxiety-cranking moments that'll have you laughing while watching through your fingers like you would a horror movie."

"This searing brand of humor has never felt more essential. Blending activism with entertainment, Baron Cohen’s best movie to date gives us new reasons to be afraid of the world, but also permission to laugh at it."

"If the movie's entire axis spins on the kind of extreme discomfort comedy you almost need a pillow to chew on and a pile of Xanax to get through, that's also the particular genius of Baron Cohen, an artist who instinctively knows how to hold up a mirror — and that a cracked one can show us, maybe better than anything, exactly what we need to see."

"The routine is more familiar and the semi-staged stunts – which faintly undermine the credibility of all but the most spectacular moments – are more conspicuous. But there are still some real laughs and pointed political moments on the subject of antisemitism and online Holocaust denial (though I was disappointed to see the film go along with a dodgy “Karen” gag)."