Review of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020) by Rei_Reviews — 27 Oct 2020

Borat 2 does not have the shock or laugh value that the original Borat had in 2006. Borat (and by extension Sacha Baron Cohen) works when it is able to put people in uncompromising situations ultimately revealing who they truly are. It works on the belief that there can't possibly be people that racist, that misogynist or that ignorant in the US. The first film released when there was no social media, and when Youtube was barely getting started. It was shocking and hard to believe that the people showcased actually existed, they were more like a myth - hence some really funny moments that required virtually no effort.

The sequel however feels forced. In the social media age, where we are constantly bombarded with short videos of 'Karens', Jordan Klepper interviews and the at times unbelievable and ridiculous White House show, Borat 2 loses it's shock value. The ultimate endgame for Borat 2 is the much publicised Giuliani scene, but it is neither funny nor shocking, rather it was completely expected. The same goes for the political rally where Borat starts a sing along. We've seen scenes like this everyday for nearly 5 years - the people filmed aren't acting 'out of the ordinary' anymore. The gaps in between are filled with cringy attempts to force laughs. At no point does the film organically make you laugh.

Save yourself some time, just watch the trailers, you'll see everything that the movie has to offer - and more as there's a bonus scene in the trailer that got cut from the final film.