Comedy is all in the timing.
Or it’s in the tone.
Or it’s all in the eye of the beholder.
The highly anticipated DVD release today of “Borat” proves comedy often comes from somewhere else altogether: good editing.
The extras included on “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” reveal how Sacha Baron Cohen and Larry Charles made the funniest movie of 2006 – they left out some very unfunny parts.
The main extra on the “Borat” DVD is a set of deleted scenes many fans of the faux-Kazakh will turn to first, to get a new dose of their overexposed comic hero. If you want your image of Cohen’s Borat character to remain perfectly ridiculous, I suggest skipping the dumped scenes. Watching them pulls back a bit of the curtain from the magic comedy show.
Most of “Borat’s” belly laughs came from Americans reacting stupidly, profanely or incredulously to Cohen’s intentionally offensive shtick. Cohen and co-conspirator Charles should have written big, fat residual checks to the minister’s wife they insulted, and the frat boys they duped, and the rodeo fans they infuriated, because it was their clueless responses that made “Borat” work.
Those critics who found Cohen’s style to be cruel will gain traction for their arguments in the deletions. Director Charles (“Seinfeld”) cut the parts where Americans welcomed Borat with dignity, kindness and boundless patience, no matter the provocation. This handful of scenes makes Americans look like saints, and Cohen like an utter jerk.
When Borat tries to adopt a puppy, and asks if the dog can be trained to attack Jews, a nice lady tells him “Jews are God’s children.” When he asks if he can eventually cook the dog, she firmly shows him the door. At a supermarket, a beleaguered junior manager shows Borat a cheese aisle with 150 selections.
“What’s this?”
“Cheese.”
“And this?”
“Cheese.”
Down the entire aisle. A good 50 times. I would have sent Borat to Turkmenistan in tiny little pieces, but the store manager never cracks.
Much richer in the comedy vein is the DVD’s recap of the movie publicity stunts where Cohen insisted on appearing as Borat. He teamed with Martha Stewart for a memorable Jay Leno meeting of unequals; Stewart is trying to demonstrate how to make a bed properly, and Borat wants to know “Where do you attach the chain for the woman?”
Staff writer Michael Booth can be reached at mbooth@denverpost.com.
