Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Offensively hilarious, more socially important than it gets credit for, October 10, 2005
Mr. Cohen has received all kinds of accolades for his three stunningly vivid personas: Ali G, Borat, and Bruno.
But aside from the ultra-offensive and seemingly obvious ignorance lay some great social commentary. Through his characters, Cohen is able to expose the still present social bigotries of this country that so many argue went away with civil rights, but that are still so firmly rooted at the core of this nation. A Cambridge graduate, and Jew, Cohen is most impressive as Borat, the anti-Jewish video journalist from Kazakhstan. In this guise he offers up some of the most ridiculously awkward moments, and shines the darkest of lights on "The U, S, and A". As disturbing as it is hilarious is the Borat-led country song, "Throw the Jew Down the Well" in which a slew of stereotypically deep country town folk join in emphatically by the song's final chorus.
This is just a taste of the type of humor/commentary you will find in this great collection (as well as a real Harvard address, I mean, I know he graduated Cambridge, but Hah-vahd, wat wuh yeh thinkin?). Each character, the over-ghettotized clown from Stains (Ali G), the inept foreigner, and the most stereotyped gay man, feigns ignorance as the main selling point for this show, and the reactions from such guests as Noam Chomsky, DEA/FBI agents, Sam Donalson, and wildlife activists ranges from bewilderment, to utter confusion, to frustration, anger, embarassment, etc., etc., etc.
If you can tolerate tongue in cheek humor, and like a little side of social commentary thrown in, this is the perfect set for you. Since there are 6 episodes with seasons one and two, and each episode includes at least one Ali G, Borat, and Bruno skit, I will not suggest buying one over the other. You'll end up going straight to your favorite segments instead of watching the whole way through anyway. Just go out and buy both seasons; "If you do not, I will crush you."
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So Funny It Hurts, December 12, 2005
Make sure you get the joke before watching these shows: Ali G isn't a real person. Neither are Borat and Bruno. They're all the same guy--and he's a comic genius!
Most of the friends I've turned on to Ali G said before they figured it out, "I thought that idiot was for real, like the ones on MTV."
No. It's a joke. And a great one.
Watching the First Season, I focused on the celebrity and political interviews (Ali G was lucky Buzz Aldrin didn't deck him for calling him Buzz Lightyear), but in the Second Season I was howling at the other segments. Borat buying a house ("Where is the cage for my wife?") and then later leading a drunken barroom filled with rednecks singing the Kazakistan song "Throw the Jew Down the Well" were hysterically funny.
And how did he stay in character after downing so much wine at a Texas wine tasting?
"Me and my sister, we make little joke!"
(I'll let you find out what that joke was).
Hilarious. Painful at times, but hilarious.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Joyous Beyond Belief, August 23, 2006
I defy anyone to try and describe Sacha Baron Cohen, aka Ali G., Borat and Bruno and not use the word "genius". It just can't be done. Every so often you stumble upon something or someone who is so unique (or just does the format so much better than it's ever been done before) that you know you are witnessing something you will never see again.
Mr. Cohen interviews people (most are well known) as one of his alter egos. As Ali G. (the hiphop wannabe who still lives with his grandmother - try to imagine a British Kevin Federline with no Britney money) his questions are beyond stupid, as Borat the reporter from Khazakhstan his questions are in-your-face offensive, racist, and sexist but somehow we Americans are more forgiving to this strange man from a country most have never heard of, and last but not least, Bruno, the gayest piece of Eurotrash there ever was.
We are treated to interview after interview from Pat Buchanan to Andy Rooney to real estate agents to a minister who claims he can convert gay people to straight. They have no idea who they are really talking with and two things amaze me. One is that Mr. Cohen never breaks character and the other is to see their reactions to some of the questions. This DVD also puts Americans to the test exposing us warts and all to what we really think.
My challenge to describe Sacha Baron Cohen as anything other than a "genius" at the beginning of my comment should also include a challenge to watch this only once. Go ahead, I dare you!
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