Sunday 28 October 2012

Film Review: The Dictator

Given my recent hiatus from publishing any new articles here on the blog, I figured now would be a good time to set free the beast that is my review of Sacha Baron Cohen's latest attempt at comedy, The Dictator. It's worth noting that I wrote this piece at the start of the year under something of a deadline as it had to be out of the oven in time for the first issue of Stream, so don't expect it to be the best thing I've ever written in the event that you didn't check it out on its original publication. Anyway, without further ado, enjoy this slice of filler while you wait for the oh-so nearly completed articles soon to be let out of their draft-enclosed cages...

Scripted fiction makes for a curiously inoffensive escapade from Sacha Baron Cohen... But is it funny?

Sacha Baron Cohen's past potentially offensive caricatures of political incorrectness were undignified, but on many occasions outrageously funny. The actor's latest attempt at portraying a character many wouldn't dare to act out might be right up your alley depending on your preferences when it comes to comedies. Possibly due to the deprivation of the formula that was born with Cohen's most successful film, Borat, which went stale with the later released Bruno, himself and director Larry Charles have returned to the actor's feature length, scripted roots (Ali G Indahouse: The Movie) with The Dictator. However, this film still follows in the footsteps and success of Cohen's last two character portrayals, despite being scripted, leading to the question of whether it holds up against those releases or not. The answer is simple, like the mind of Admiral General Aladeen himself; It very much depends of whether you found Bruno funny or utterly atrocious.