Sacha Baron Cohen has proven himself to be one of the most versatile and controversial comedic actors working with his characters Ali G, Borat and Bruno. Now he takes on one of the touchiest subjects in the Western World at the moment in a time when perhaps it is needed most. Although production for "The Dictator" began before what we are calling the Arab Spring, its release could not come at a more interesting moment. This film does not live up to the expectations that his past work--particularly "Borat"--has led us to expect, but Cohen's eye for the absurd and the cynical is undiminished.
Set in the fictional North African nation of Wadiya, General Haffaz Alladeen rules his nation with unbridled power and a passionate love of his dictatorial strength. Although not the rightful heir to the thrown, his ascension to power at age seven has left him with limitless oil money, a nation at his feet and a hatred of the democratic states of Europe and America. When his new nuclear program causes unease, the UN summons him to New York for talks lest his precious homeland be subject to air raids.
Cohen has done what we believed unthinkable and has created a film with a linear plot and little, if any, jokes on unsuspecting non-professionals. The troubles with the film are apparent and have come precisely from the inability for this great comedian to flex his improv muscles, but as always he has created an outrageous character who often makes clear and biting remarks about the world we live in. Like "Dr. Strangelove" this is a film facing topics too serious to be presented seriously. With comedy, Cohen is able to make the audience laugh and at the same time leave a sting that lingers with the viewers.
After arrive in the US, Alladeen's American bodyguard (John C. Reilly) betrays him and tortures him by cutting off his beard. The general has been betrayed by the rightful heir to his father's thrown, Tamir (Ben Kingsley), and has been replaced by his hapless body-double, a person not much dumber than Alladeen himself. Tamir's goal is to democratize the nation and open up the Wadiyan oil markets to the Chinese to make a hefty profit. Alladeen must reenter the UN to stop the signing of a new constitution before his precious dictatorship is destroyed.
Cohen blends his traditional mixture of outrageous social commentary about cultural differences with slapstick, sex, crude language and gross-out humor in plentiful amounts to keep his target audience coming back, but in his...well, what we might call his most conventional plot (I'm not sure of a better word to describe it), as many of his jokes fall flat on their face as the ones that succeed. However, those that are funny are hilarious and reaffirm his standing as one of the smartest and most interesting political commentators that we have reaching the public. For that reason I hope he feels a certain amount of responsibility to his faithful audiences to make sure that it simply isn't humor for the sake of humor. It isn't here, but I would hate for him to get sloppy.
Some of his best jokes come from his relationship with an ultra-liberal girl named Zoey (Anna Faris) who works at an all vegan, free-range, lesbian-run co-op, staffed by international refugees. Alladeen gets a job there for his own purposes, but this man who is used to riding camels and being put to bed by insanely sexy female guards is absolutely hilarious in that sort of setting. Some of the American jokes are not so great, but that was where the comedy was most Borat in nature which is what Cohen excels at.
As stated earlier, however, lots of jokes fail and did nothing more than make me lift an eyebrow or turn from the scene in disgust. One particularly bad moment came in the most distastefully graphic birthing scene I have ever witnessed; I don't think that secured any new fans of the star. But that was not really the point of the movie. In a recent interview with the BBC which Cohen surprisingly gave as himself, he stated that this was not a commentary on the Arab Spring or the Islamic people in general. This was an attack on dictators and those in favor of dictatorships. He said he found the late Col. Gaddafi hilarious, and his send up of these ridiculous men with all of their pomp, glamour and false ideologies is brilliant.
The good jokes are wildly funny, but they are too far and few in between. This is a fun film on a night out, but don't expect anything as clever or sharp as "Borat". Unfortunately, people now know Cohen too well for him to go in disguise for future films and that makes this endeavor with a proper story line all the more disappointing. He is going to have to work twice as hard in the future to make the jokes stick.
2/4
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