Movie review: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

A lot has changed since Borat first made audiences cringe in 2006.

The biggest change is in what some people can get away with - and not just in terms of Sacha Baron Cohen's comedy.

Last week, the Rudy Giuliani sting that serves as the crescendo to the mockumentary comedy sequel now showing on Amazon Prime made headlines.

Arguably, 14 years ago, such an incident would have been career-ending.

Now, we have already moved on. Sure, Mr Giuliani comes off as a creep. But we are in a world where such things have no real consequences.

Though the scene does say a lot about Baron Cohen in that he did not let things go any further with US President Donald Trump's lawyer and his co-star - the excellent and fearless Maria Bakalova - before bursting in in character.

Who knows what would have happened had Mr Giuliani continued tucking in his shirt for just a few seconds more.

SHIFT IN MINDSET

There has also been a shift in mindset when it comes to Baron Cohen.

He is a campaigner and activist who calls out the social media main players for their allowance of hate speech.

He is also dad to a young daughter, and a lot of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm highlights dubious attitudes towards women and their bodies.

This is also a film with a surprising amount of sentiment.

Borat may start regarding his daughter Tutar as the least important livestock, but as he tries to give her to US Vice-President Mike Pence as tribute, the pair start to bond along the way.

The "way" includes entertaining a far-right event, pranking a leading anti-abortionist and making store owners very uncomfortable.

A couple of QAnon types, who seem nice enough until they get into conspiracy theories, do raise a question of how unaware the targets were.

The camera seems too visible for them to not think something is up, and yet everyone is still more than willing to say something shocking.

But in this world, the shocks are where the laughs are.

Borat may be preaching to the choir, but the timing of the film is no accident.

Aside from a brilliant pandemic-enforced pay-off, it also has the message: "Now vote, or you will be execute."

SCORE: 3.5/5

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FILM: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

STARRING: Sacha Baron Cohen, Maria Bakalova

DIRECTOR: Jason Woliner

THE SKINNY: After embarrassing Kazakhstan in the 2006 film, Borat Sagdiyev is released from prison 14 years later and sent by his country's government - alongside his teenage daughter Tutar (Bakalova) - to the US to deliver a gift to US Vice-President Mike Pence.

RATING: M18