Boorish Borat Comes To New York

“Hello New York Cities!” cried British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen last week. “Good evening journalists and prostitutes.” It was the pre-screening of the film “Borat: Cultural Learnings for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” in which Cohen pretends to be a Kazakh journalist on a quest to discover America. With critics calling it one of the funniest movies ever made, the film topped the weekend box office, bringing in more than $26 million despite showing in only a third as many theaters as its closest competitors. Borat strode to the stage of the Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater in his gray suit and bushy moustache, kissing two audience members and the emcee’s “khrum” (genitals) along the way. He gestured at a woman in the first few rows, squeezing his hands in approval of her breasts. “Very nice. How much?” he said. Then, noticing her male companion: “She is yours? No problem, I will negotiate.” Borat advised the crowd that if anyone needs the restroom—“to make dirt from your anus”—there is a gypsy boy in the lobby holding a box. “My recommendation is to go early because it fill up very quick.” He continued, “It great honor be here in US and A—greatest country in the world. Yes! Your mighty warlord Premier Bush—Oh yea, strong man. But not as strong as his father Barbara. Please, you enjoy. High five. I like sex!”—Mike McPhate