Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Within the realm of Sacha Baron Cohen-level absurdity is this coming-of-age story of a young woman who breaks out of a patriarchal cocoon to find that female free will does exist.

Borat Sagdiyev, who after humiliating his home country with his previous “moviefilm,” gains renewed hope with the assignment of bringing Johnny the Monkey (aka the Kazakh Minister of Culture, and yes, an actual monkey) to “ladies man” Mike Pence. But quickly Johnny and his role as an offering to an American statesman is replaced by a stowaway, Borat’s daughter, who has sneaked into Johnny’s crate. We’ll just say that we never hear from Johnny again.

The introduction of his daughter, Tutar Sagdiyev, played by fantastic newcomer Maria Bakalova, breathes fresh life into Borat’s antics. Cohen offers Bakalova the room to play on public expectations, just as he has done for decades, welcoming a deeper presentation of gender dynamics to complement the Borat lens on racism.

The film’s focus shifts to Tutar blossoming into a groomed, spray-tanned blonde fixture that might just catch the eye and pants of a American politician. With the help of her dad, Tutar consults with experts in the field to learn to be a “desirable woman,” including a social media influencer/sugar baby (professional lander of wealthy older men) and a debutante coach. The moments where real people speak their truth about women remind us that modern nods to the dowry system persist.

The culminating scene of this film is, of course, Rudy Giuliani’s unwitting guest star performance as an inappropriate older man with waning power. Curious where he drew from.