Stars Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, Maluma and more take you behind the scenes of their glamorous new romance, Universal Pictures’ Marry Me, directed by Kat Coiro. In theaters and streaming only on Peacock this Valentine’s Day. https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-movies/marry-me
Packed with original songs by Jennifer Lopez and global Latin music star Maluma, Marry Me arrives next Valentine’s Day with Lopez starring as musical superstar Kat Valdez and Owen Wilson as Charlie Gilbert, a math teacher—total strangers who agree to marry and then get to know each other. An unlikely romance about two different people searching for something real in a world where value is based on likes and followers, Marry Me is a modern love story about celebrity, marriage and social media.
Kat Valdez (Lopez) is half of the sexiest celebrity power couple on Earth with hot new music supernova Bastian. As Kat and Bastian’s inescapable hit single,...
Packed with original songs by Jennifer Lopez and global Latin music star Maluma, Marry Me arrives next Valentine’s Day with Lopez starring as musical superstar Kat Valdez and Owen Wilson as Charlie Gilbert, a math teacher—total strangers who agree to marry and then get to know each other. An unlikely romance about two different people searching for something real in a world where value is based on likes and followers, Marry Me is a modern love story about celebrity, marriage and social media.
Kat Valdez (Lopez) is half of the sexiest celebrity power couple on Earth with hot new music supernova Bastian. As Kat and Bastian’s inescapable hit single,...
- 1/25/2022
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Hidden Figures is the incredible untold story of brilliant African-American women working at Nasa, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big. Photo Credit: Hopper Stone.
The Academy Science and Technology Council will present “Hidden Figures/Modern Figures: A Journey of Breakthroughs in Cinema and Space Travel,” in collaboration with Nasa, on Wednesday, November 29, at 7:30pm at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
The evening will feature a panel discussion with Nasa scientists and “Hidden Figures” filmmakers for an examination of the past, present and future in space math, diversity and the movies.
Hidden Figures opened in cinemas on January 6, 2017.
Moderated...
The Academy Science and Technology Council will present “Hidden Figures/Modern Figures: A Journey of Breakthroughs in Cinema and Space Travel,” in collaboration with Nasa, on Wednesday, November 29, at 7:30pm at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
The evening will feature a panel discussion with Nasa scientists and “Hidden Figures” filmmakers for an examination of the past, present and future in space math, diversity and the movies.
Hidden Figures opened in cinemas on January 6, 2017.
Moderated...
- 11/15/2017
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Academy invitee Eddie Redmayne in 'The Theory of Everything.' Academy invites 322 new members: 'More diverse and inclusive list of filmmakers and artists than ever before' The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has offered membership to 322 individuals "who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures." According to the Academy's press release, "those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy's membership in 2015." In case all 322 potential new members say an enthusiastic Yes, that means an injection of new blood representing about 5 percent of the Academy's current membership. In the words of Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs (as quoted in the press release), in 2015 "our branches have recognized a more diverse and inclusive list of filmmakers and artists than ever before, and we look forward to adding their creativity, ideas and experience to our organization." In recent years, the Academy membership has...
- 7/1/2015
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
©Renzo Piano Building Workshop/©Studio Pali Fekete architects/©A.M.P.A.S.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week that the Los Angeles City Council, in a unanimous vote, approved plans for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Construction will begin this summer, and ceremonial groundbreaking festivities will occur this fall.
“I am thrilled that Los Angeles is gaining another architectural and cultural icon,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “My office of economic development has worked directly with the museum’s development team to ensure that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will create jobs, support tourism, and pay homage to the industry that helped define our identity as the creative capital of the world.”
“We are grateful to our incredible community of supporters who have helped make this museum a reality,” said Dawn Hudson, the Academy’s CEO. “Building this museum has been an Academy...
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week that the Los Angeles City Council, in a unanimous vote, approved plans for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Construction will begin this summer, and ceremonial groundbreaking festivities will occur this fall.
“I am thrilled that Los Angeles is gaining another architectural and cultural icon,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “My office of economic development has worked directly with the museum’s development team to ensure that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will create jobs, support tourism, and pay homage to the industry that helped define our identity as the creative capital of the world.”
“We are grateful to our incredible community of supporters who have helped make this museum a reality,” said Dawn Hudson, the Academy’s CEO. “Building this museum has been an Academy...
- 6/27/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Strangely dropping a press release on a historic day where the nation's attention is elsewhere, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed their annual list of new member invitees this morning. For those who criticize the makeup of the Academy there was some good news and the stark realization the organization still has a long way to go. The Academy has spent the last eight to 10 years attempting to diversify its membership and this year's class mostly reflects that. There are significantly more invitees of Asian and African-American descent, but the male to female disparity is still depressing. Out of the 25 potential new members of the Actor's Branch only seven are women. And, no, there isn't really an acceptable way for the Academy to spin that sad fact. Additionally, It's important to realize the 322 people noted in the release have only been invited to join Hollywood's most exclusive club.
- 6/26/2015
- by Gregory Ellwood
- Hitfix
A mild-mannered businessman and the spend-happy con woman who stole his identity embark on an uproarious, cross-country road trip in the number one comedy blockbuster Identity Thief, available on Blu-ray™Combo Pack, DVD, Digital Download and On Demand June 4, 2013, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Identity Thief’s fearlessly funny stars – Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses) and Emmy® winner Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) – charmed critics and audiences alike with their off-the-wall outrageous banter. Directed by Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses), Identity Thief also features an all-star ensemble cast including Jon Favreau (Iron Man series), Amanda Peet (2012), Tip ‘T.I.’ Harris (American Gangster), Genesis Rodriguez (What to Expect When You’re Expecting), John Cho (Harold & Kumar series), Robert Patrick (Safe House) and Eric Stonestreet (“Modern Family”).
Both the Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD include an unrated, extended version of the film featuring exclusive footage not shown in theaters, as well as a gag reel and making...
Both the Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD include an unrated, extended version of the film featuring exclusive footage not shown in theaters, as well as a gag reel and making...
- 4/2/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
An All-star cast puts a comedy spin on workplace woes in upcoming movie Horrible Bosses, released in UK cinemas on July 22.
For Nick, Kurt and Dale, the only thing that would make the daily grind more tolerable would be to grind their intolerable managers into dust.
Quitting is not an option, so, with the benefit of a few-too-many drinks and some dubious advice from a hustling ex-con, the three friends devise a convoluted and seemingly foolproof plan to rid themselves of their respective employers...permanently.
There's only one problem: even the best-laid plans are only as foolproof as the brains behind them.
Jason Bateman (Couples Retreat), Charlie Day (Going the Distance) and Jason Sudeikis (Hall Pass) star as the three hapless workers, with Jennifer Aniston (He's Just Not That Into You), Colin Farrell (Crazy Heart) and two-time Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey (American Beauty, The Usual Suspects), as their unbearable bosses.
Jamie Foxx...
For Nick, Kurt and Dale, the only thing that would make the daily grind more tolerable would be to grind their intolerable managers into dust.
Quitting is not an option, so, with the benefit of a few-too-many drinks and some dubious advice from a hustling ex-con, the three friends devise a convoluted and seemingly foolproof plan to rid themselves of their respective employers...permanently.
There's only one problem: even the best-laid plans are only as foolproof as the brains behind them.
Jason Bateman (Couples Retreat), Charlie Day (Going the Distance) and Jason Sudeikis (Hall Pass) star as the three hapless workers, with Jennifer Aniston (He's Just Not That Into You), Colin Farrell (Crazy Heart) and two-time Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey (American Beauty, The Usual Suspects), as their unbearable bosses.
Jamie Foxx...
- 6/23/2011
- by David Bentley
- The Geek Files
What can you do when your boss is a psycho, a man-eater or a total tool? Quitting is not an option. These monsters must be stopped. In Warner Bros. Pictures’ Horrible Bosses, even the best-laid plans are only as good as the brains behind them.
Enter Wamg’s Horrible Bosses contest for win a chance to see the movie before it comes out. The screening will be on Tuesday, 7/5 at Ronnie’S 20 Cine, 7pm.
Official Rules:
1. You Must Be In The St. Louis Area The Day Of The Screening.
2. Fill Out Your Name And E-mail Address Below. Real First Name Required.
3. Answer The Following Question: Tell us your best story about a horrible boss?
Winners Will Be Chosen Through A Random Drawing Of Qualifying Contestants. No Purchase Necessary. Passes Will Not Be Substituted Or Exchanged.
Anyone Caught Reprinting Tickets For Distribution Will Be Banned From Our Contests! Duplicate Tickets Will Not Be Accepted!
Enter Wamg’s Horrible Bosses contest for win a chance to see the movie before it comes out. The screening will be on Tuesday, 7/5 at Ronnie’S 20 Cine, 7pm.
Official Rules:
1. You Must Be In The St. Louis Area The Day Of The Screening.
2. Fill Out Your Name And E-mail Address Below. Real First Name Required.
3. Answer The Following Question: Tell us your best story about a horrible boss?
Winners Will Be Chosen Through A Random Drawing Of Qualifying Contestants. No Purchase Necessary. Passes Will Not Be Substituted Or Exchanged.
Anyone Caught Reprinting Tickets For Distribution Will Be Banned From Our Contests! Duplicate Tickets Will Not Be Accepted!
- 6/22/2011
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Features Mike McCready (Pearl Jam),
Stefan Lessard (Dave Matthews Band),
Money Mark (Beastie Boys
June 17, 2011 – Burbank, CA -WaterTower Music will release “Horrible Bosses: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” at all digital retailers on July 5, 2011. This audio companion to New Line Cinema’s irreverent comedy “Horrible Bosses” will offer a unique and exciting musical experience to the listener. Grammy Award Winner and Emmy Award nominated composer Christopher Lennertz (Ozomatli, Supernatural, Lemonade Mouth) has assembled an all-star collection of artists to collaborate on the soundtrack. Bringing together Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Stefan Lessard of Dave Matthews Band, and Money Mark – a long time Beastie Boys collaborator – to join forces and record with musicians Matt Chamberlain, David Levita, Aaron Kaplan, Victor Indrizzo, Chris Chaney, and Davey Chegwidden, Lennertz has created a wildly funky musical journey to the film.
“I was pretty stoked when Christopher asked me to play guitar on some...
Stefan Lessard (Dave Matthews Band),
Money Mark (Beastie Boys
June 17, 2011 – Burbank, CA -WaterTower Music will release “Horrible Bosses: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” at all digital retailers on July 5, 2011. This audio companion to New Line Cinema’s irreverent comedy “Horrible Bosses” will offer a unique and exciting musical experience to the listener. Grammy Award Winner and Emmy Award nominated composer Christopher Lennertz (Ozomatli, Supernatural, Lemonade Mouth) has assembled an all-star collection of artists to collaborate on the soundtrack. Bringing together Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Stefan Lessard of Dave Matthews Band, and Money Mark – a long time Beastie Boys collaborator – to join forces and record with musicians Matt Chamberlain, David Levita, Aaron Kaplan, Victor Indrizzo, Chris Chaney, and Davey Chegwidden, Lennertz has created a wildly funky musical journey to the film.
“I was pretty stoked when Christopher asked me to play guitar on some...
- 6/17/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Land of The Lost has been produced by Jummy Miller, Sid Krofft and Marty Krofft and directed by Brad Silberling. Based on a television series created by Sid and Marty Kroft, the script has been written by Chris Henchy and Dennis McNicholas. Dion Beebe is the director of photography and the movie has been edited by Peter Teschner. Music has been done by Michael Giacchino. Production designer of the movie is Bo Welch. The main cast includes Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, Anna Friel and Jorma Taccone in the roles of Dr. Rick Marshall, William Stanton, Holly Cantrell and Chaka respectively.
Will Ferrell always performs his best comedy when given something actually funny to do and it will be hard for you not to laugh. He pulls off his shirt to display his baggy pack; it has now become more of a ritual unveiling all his contracts. It has, however, become a cheap comedy,...
Will Ferrell always performs his best comedy when given something actually funny to do and it will be hard for you not to laugh. He pulls off his shirt to display his baggy pack; it has now become more of a ritual unveiling all his contracts. It has, however, become a cheap comedy,...
- 7/31/2009
- by suavers
- ReelSuave.com
Scintillating romantic comedy is the holy grail that everyone in Hollywood dreams of capturing. Producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner have achieved some success reinvigorating classic formulas in their English comedies including Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill.
But in crossing the pond for their latest effort, Definitely, Maybe, they run into some problems. Writer-director Adam Brooks ("Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason") doesn't have the knack for the genre demonstrated by the masters. Opening on Valentine's Day, the film hopes to tap the date crowd, but it falls somewhere between a mass audience crowd-pleaser and a literate class act. Business will be middling but not spectacular.
Yet the film is far from a complete washout, and this is chiefly a tribute to its immensely attractive and appealing cast. Ryan Reynolds proves to have the stuff of a true leading man. He plays disgruntled ad man Will Hayes, who receives divorce papers in the movie's opening scene. He goes to pick up his daughter Maya ("Little Miss Sunshine's" Abigail Breslin) at school, where she has just attended her first sex education class and has a million questions for her befuddled dad.
Maya's discovery of sex prompts her to ask Will how he met and fell and love with her mother. Instead of giving her a straightforward answer, Will recounts his romantic involvement with three women: college sweetheart Emily (Elizabeth Banks), flaky co-worker April (Isla Fisher) and aspiring journalist Summer (Rachel Weisz). He frames his history as something of a mystery that Maya will have to solve: Which of the three women became his wife, and which of the three is his true soulmate?
The answer to the first question is not immediately apparent, but the answer to the second is clear because Fisher has top billing and the most screen time. It's also clear because Fisher and Reynolds have the kind of sizzling chemistry that defines all the memorable movie couples. This film is a great showcase for both of them.
Will is an unusual romantic hero in that he spends most of the movie being dumped instead of conquering women. Considering that Reynolds has the looks to be a superstar, it's a shrewd decision for him to play against that and come across as awkward and even dorky in his pursuit of women. His lack of confidence in his sexual prowess makes him even more endearing.
Fisher, best known for her role in Wedding Crashers, is absolutely irresistible. She, too, seems frazzled and rumpled rather than glamorous. April is the kind of no-nonsense, down-to-earth woman who always has been the mainstay of romantic comedy. Fisher actually seems to be channeling Jean Arthur or Claudette Colbert.
Weisz and Banks are ravishing enough to make the contest among the three women viable, though Banks' role is underdeveloped, and even Weisz could use some meatier scenes. (A bland montage that shows Summer and Will falling in love doesn't do the trick.)
Kevin Kline has a sharp cameo as the drunk writer who is Summer's mentor and lover. But a lot of the other supporting players don't really have enough to do. Even Breslin is reduced to little more than a sounding-board until the very last scenes, when she finally gets to play a more active role in Will's search for fulfillment.
The film begins in 1992, when Will goes to work for Bill Clinton's campaign for president, and an entertaining subplot concerns Will's disillusionment with Clinton during the course of the '90s. But the evocation of the era is fairly lackluster. Cinematographer Florian Ballhaus does capture the allure of Manhattan, though the editing by Peter Teschner lets the picture drag on too long.
The bigger problem is that the romantic banter between Will and his three paramours strains for sparkling wit and only occasionally achieves it. In addition, the script cries out for the kind of clever plotting that distinguished such movies as It Happened One Night and "Adam's Rib." Is it impossible for today's writers to match the urbanity of Samson Raphaelson or Donald Ogden Stewart or Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin?
Such performers as Reynolds and Fisher might rank with Gable and Lombard or Tracy and Hepburn, but we'll never know until they get the crack scripts that helped to turn an earlier generation of actors into legends.
DEFINITELY, MAYBE
Universal
Working Title, StudioCanal
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Adam Brooks
Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
Executive producers: Liza Chasin, Bobby Cohen
Co-executive producer: Kerry Orent
Director of photography: Florian Ballhaus
Production designer: Stephanie Carroll
Music: Clint Mansell
Costume designer: Gary Jones
Editor: Peter Teschner
Cast:
Will Hayes: Ryan Reynolds
April: Isla Fisher
Maya Hayes: Abigail Breslin
Russell McCormack: Derek Luke
Emily: Elizabeth Banks
Summer Hartley: Rachel Weisz
Hampton Roth: Kevin Kline
Gareth: Adam Ferrara
Arthur Robredo: Nestor Serrano
Running time -- 110 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
But in crossing the pond for their latest effort, Definitely, Maybe, they run into some problems. Writer-director Adam Brooks ("Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason") doesn't have the knack for the genre demonstrated by the masters. Opening on Valentine's Day, the film hopes to tap the date crowd, but it falls somewhere between a mass audience crowd-pleaser and a literate class act. Business will be middling but not spectacular.
Yet the film is far from a complete washout, and this is chiefly a tribute to its immensely attractive and appealing cast. Ryan Reynolds proves to have the stuff of a true leading man. He plays disgruntled ad man Will Hayes, who receives divorce papers in the movie's opening scene. He goes to pick up his daughter Maya ("Little Miss Sunshine's" Abigail Breslin) at school, where she has just attended her first sex education class and has a million questions for her befuddled dad.
Maya's discovery of sex prompts her to ask Will how he met and fell and love with her mother. Instead of giving her a straightforward answer, Will recounts his romantic involvement with three women: college sweetheart Emily (Elizabeth Banks), flaky co-worker April (Isla Fisher) and aspiring journalist Summer (Rachel Weisz). He frames his history as something of a mystery that Maya will have to solve: Which of the three women became his wife, and which of the three is his true soulmate?
The answer to the first question is not immediately apparent, but the answer to the second is clear because Fisher has top billing and the most screen time. It's also clear because Fisher and Reynolds have the kind of sizzling chemistry that defines all the memorable movie couples. This film is a great showcase for both of them.
Will is an unusual romantic hero in that he spends most of the movie being dumped instead of conquering women. Considering that Reynolds has the looks to be a superstar, it's a shrewd decision for him to play against that and come across as awkward and even dorky in his pursuit of women. His lack of confidence in his sexual prowess makes him even more endearing.
Fisher, best known for her role in Wedding Crashers, is absolutely irresistible. She, too, seems frazzled and rumpled rather than glamorous. April is the kind of no-nonsense, down-to-earth woman who always has been the mainstay of romantic comedy. Fisher actually seems to be channeling Jean Arthur or Claudette Colbert.
Weisz and Banks are ravishing enough to make the contest among the three women viable, though Banks' role is underdeveloped, and even Weisz could use some meatier scenes. (A bland montage that shows Summer and Will falling in love doesn't do the trick.)
Kevin Kline has a sharp cameo as the drunk writer who is Summer's mentor and lover. But a lot of the other supporting players don't really have enough to do. Even Breslin is reduced to little more than a sounding-board until the very last scenes, when she finally gets to play a more active role in Will's search for fulfillment.
The film begins in 1992, when Will goes to work for Bill Clinton's campaign for president, and an entertaining subplot concerns Will's disillusionment with Clinton during the course of the '90s. But the evocation of the era is fairly lackluster. Cinematographer Florian Ballhaus does capture the allure of Manhattan, though the editing by Peter Teschner lets the picture drag on too long.
The bigger problem is that the romantic banter between Will and his three paramours strains for sparkling wit and only occasionally achieves it. In addition, the script cries out for the kind of clever plotting that distinguished such movies as It Happened One Night and "Adam's Rib." Is it impossible for today's writers to match the urbanity of Samson Raphaelson or Donald Ogden Stewart or Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin?
Such performers as Reynolds and Fisher might rank with Gable and Lombard or Tracy and Hepburn, but we'll never know until they get the crack scripts that helped to turn an earlier generation of actors into legends.
DEFINITELY, MAYBE
Universal
Working Title, StudioCanal
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Adam Brooks
Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
Executive producers: Liza Chasin, Bobby Cohen
Co-executive producer: Kerry Orent
Director of photography: Florian Ballhaus
Production designer: Stephanie Carroll
Music: Clint Mansell
Costume designer: Gary Jones
Editor: Peter Teschner
Cast:
Will Hayes: Ryan Reynolds
April: Isla Fisher
Maya Hayes: Abigail Breslin
Russell McCormack: Derek Luke
Emily: Elizabeth Banks
Summer Hartley: Rachel Weisz
Hampton Roth: Kevin Kline
Gareth: Adam Ferrara
Arthur Robredo: Nestor Serrano
Running time -- 110 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 2/11/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
TORONTO -- This year you are not going to find a more appalling, tasteless, grotesque, politically incorrect or slanderous film than "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." You probably won't laugh as hard all year either. For once it's true: Borat has to be seen to be believed. Like an exploding cesspool at a country club dinner. Or a strip show in a cathedral. You just might want to stay through the credit crawl too: The last shot is as funny as the first one.
Borat is a mockumentary revolving around one Borat Sagdiyev, a gangly, gray-suited journalist working for Kazakhstan's state-run TV network, who takes his mangled English and die-hard prejudices to America to make a documentary about life in the U.S. of A. Borat is the brainchild of British comic Sacha Baron Cohen, creator and star of HBO's Da Ali G Show. The director of Borat is one of the inventors of modern TV comedy, Larry Charles, whose sure hand here shows that he has moved on from Masked and Anonymous, his unfortunate first misstep in cinema.
Borat played to many empty seats at initial festival screenings last week. But in its final screenings, turn-away crowds showed up thanks to the buzz. Here amid all this serious, high-minded art, audiences were greedy for a movie where everything, truly everything, is inappropriate. Fox may have a hit with Borat.
The movie begins in Kazakhstan (with Romania doing the honors), where Borat shows off his native village and its traditions. This includes the Running of the Jew, where young men flee down a corridor of terror before an individual in a huge mask that brings together just about every anti-Semitic caricature into one horrible visage. Borat then proudly introduces his sister, "the No. 4 prostitute in all of country."
He brings to America a host of prejudices so ingrained as to offend everyone he meets. His interview with a group of feminists revolves around his belief that a woman's brain is the size of a squirrel's. He is terrified of homosexuals, yet blithely practices his homeland's manly customs of men kissing each other and wrestling in the nude.
Borat is accompanied by his obese producer, Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davitian), who can't understand why they are crossing the country in a purchased Ice Cream truck instead of doing the interviews scheduled on the East Coast. He doesn't realize that his colleague has discovered his true love while watching reruns of Baywatch on TV: Pamela Anderson. Because she lives in California, that is now the promised land. He means to marry her Kazakhstan-style, which requires a burlap sack.
On the road, Borat takes hip-hop lessons from black youths. He tries to purchase a gun to protect himself from Jews. (He buys a bear instead.) He draws cheers from a crowd at a rodeo by chanting, "May George Bush drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq!" He invites a large prostitute to a dinner party of religious conservatives.
The high point -- which also is the low point -- comes when he and his producer get into a very physical fight in their hotel room over Anderson, which spills into the hall, an elevator, the lobby and finally a convention in a banquet room. They are both Buck Naked, which is not a pretty sight.
So, is Borat a modern-day version of those old Polish jokes? The movie will have its detractors and defenders, but it's pretty clear the satiric attack isn't on bigotry so much as its origins -- superstitions, traditions, ancestral animosities and beliefs in cultural and gender superiority, all firmly rooted in dire ignorance.
The weapon wielded by Cohen and Charles is crudeness. People today, especially those in public life, can disguise prejudice in coded language and soft tones. Bigotry is ever so polite now. So the filmmakers mean to drag the beast out into the sunlight of brilliant satire and let everyone see the rotting, stinking, foul thing for what it is. When you laugh at something that is bad, it loses much of its power.
BORAT: CULTURAL LEANINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
20th Century Fox
One America/Everyman Pictures
Credits:
Director: Larry Charles
Screenwriters: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Don Mazer
Producers: Sacha Baron Cohen, Jay Roach
Executive producers: Dan Mazer, Monica Levinson
Director of photography: Anthony Hardwick, Luke Geissbuhler
Production designer: David Maturana
Costumes: Jason Alper
Music: Erran Baron Cohen
Editors: Peter Teschner, James Thomas
Cast:
Borat Sagdiyev: Sacha Baron Cohen
Herself: Pamela Anderson
Azamat Bagatov: Ken Davitian
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 83 minutes...
Borat is a mockumentary revolving around one Borat Sagdiyev, a gangly, gray-suited journalist working for Kazakhstan's state-run TV network, who takes his mangled English and die-hard prejudices to America to make a documentary about life in the U.S. of A. Borat is the brainchild of British comic Sacha Baron Cohen, creator and star of HBO's Da Ali G Show. The director of Borat is one of the inventors of modern TV comedy, Larry Charles, whose sure hand here shows that he has moved on from Masked and Anonymous, his unfortunate first misstep in cinema.
Borat played to many empty seats at initial festival screenings last week. But in its final screenings, turn-away crowds showed up thanks to the buzz. Here amid all this serious, high-minded art, audiences were greedy for a movie where everything, truly everything, is inappropriate. Fox may have a hit with Borat.
The movie begins in Kazakhstan (with Romania doing the honors), where Borat shows off his native village and its traditions. This includes the Running of the Jew, where young men flee down a corridor of terror before an individual in a huge mask that brings together just about every anti-Semitic caricature into one horrible visage. Borat then proudly introduces his sister, "the No. 4 prostitute in all of country."
He brings to America a host of prejudices so ingrained as to offend everyone he meets. His interview with a group of feminists revolves around his belief that a woman's brain is the size of a squirrel's. He is terrified of homosexuals, yet blithely practices his homeland's manly customs of men kissing each other and wrestling in the nude.
Borat is accompanied by his obese producer, Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davitian), who can't understand why they are crossing the country in a purchased Ice Cream truck instead of doing the interviews scheduled on the East Coast. He doesn't realize that his colleague has discovered his true love while watching reruns of Baywatch on TV: Pamela Anderson. Because she lives in California, that is now the promised land. He means to marry her Kazakhstan-style, which requires a burlap sack.
On the road, Borat takes hip-hop lessons from black youths. He tries to purchase a gun to protect himself from Jews. (He buys a bear instead.) He draws cheers from a crowd at a rodeo by chanting, "May George Bush drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq!" He invites a large prostitute to a dinner party of religious conservatives.
The high point -- which also is the low point -- comes when he and his producer get into a very physical fight in their hotel room over Anderson, which spills into the hall, an elevator, the lobby and finally a convention in a banquet room. They are both Buck Naked, which is not a pretty sight.
So, is Borat a modern-day version of those old Polish jokes? The movie will have its detractors and defenders, but it's pretty clear the satiric attack isn't on bigotry so much as its origins -- superstitions, traditions, ancestral animosities and beliefs in cultural and gender superiority, all firmly rooted in dire ignorance.
The weapon wielded by Cohen and Charles is crudeness. People today, especially those in public life, can disguise prejudice in coded language and soft tones. Bigotry is ever so polite now. So the filmmakers mean to drag the beast out into the sunlight of brilliant satire and let everyone see the rotting, stinking, foul thing for what it is. When you laugh at something that is bad, it loses much of its power.
BORAT: CULTURAL LEANINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
20th Century Fox
One America/Everyman Pictures
Credits:
Director: Larry Charles
Screenwriters: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Don Mazer
Producers: Sacha Baron Cohen, Jay Roach
Executive producers: Dan Mazer, Monica Levinson
Director of photography: Anthony Hardwick, Luke Geissbuhler
Production designer: David Maturana
Costumes: Jason Alper
Music: Erran Baron Cohen
Editors: Peter Teschner, James Thomas
Cast:
Borat Sagdiyev: Sacha Baron Cohen
Herself: Pamela Anderson
Azamat Bagatov: Ken Davitian
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 83 minutes...
- 9/12/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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