Posted on 10/26/2006 9:40:14 AM PDT by NYC Republican
There were peasants, prostitutes, several barrels of fermented horse urine and possibly the most politically-incorrect speech Britain has ever heard.
Borat, Kazakhstan's famous TV reporter, was in town.
Gallery The stars come out for the Borat premiere
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He arrived on a wooden cart drawn by a mule, surrounded by a gaggle of cheap-looking Kazakh ladies of the night.
And he brought laughter - although much more bafflement - to London's Leicester Square.
Unsuspecting office workers paused on their way home last night to watch as Borat attended the premier of his film, Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
Borat, for the uninitiated, is the latest character of Ali G comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.
His persona as a Kazakh TV reporter - depicting his homeland as a nation of misogynists, racists and anti-Semites - has infuriated the country's President.
Last night, it was easy to see why. Baron Cohen hopped off his mule cart and declared: "Good evening gentlemen and prostitutes."
Wearing a bright yellow jacket and jeans, and oversized sunglasses, he grabbed a microphone and invited the crowds to join him after the screening at his hotel in King's Cross, where "We will all drink, wrestle with no clothes on and shoot dogs from the window."
Puzzled onlookers, standing in heavy rain, could be heard asking who on earth was speaking.
Lampooning Kazakhstan, Borat spoke warmly of the progress his home nation had made towards the modern world.
Such strides, he declared, as "women now permitted to travel on inside of bus" and "homosexuals no longer have to wear blue hats."
Flanked by two fearsome-looking guards with bayonets, Borat said he would love to meet the Queen, though he stressed: "Not for sexy time."
He also said he was hoping to meet Madonna after reading about her adoption of 13 month old Malawian boy David Banda.
"I have brought here with me my 11-year-old son, his wife and their new-born baby, who I am hoping to sell to singing transvestite Madonna," he said.
And his verdict on English women? "Very nice, but I cannot say for sure because I have not had time to buy any," he remarked, adding: "Here the women have more hair on their heads than our women do on their backs but English women not look strong enough to pull a plough."
As celebrities such as Peaches Geldof, Trinny Woodall and Desperate Housewives star Jesse Metcalfe hurried into the cinema, Borat announced: "Now we will sing Kazakhstan national anthem. All who do not join in will be reported."
And off he went, booming out the song in English - well, there was some English in it - and it was possible to discern something about his nation's prostitutes.
As Borat sang a verse that went something like "Kazakhstan's filtration system a marvel to behold," the crowds were divided into those attempting to sing along with the joke, and those left utterly baffled by what was happening.
One onlooker, Tomsk Alojzy, 23, from Poland, said: "Is this supposed to be Eastern European or English humour? I really don't understand it."
Perhaps Borat still has much to learn from Hollywood stars such as Tom Cruise, famed for spending literally hours chatting to his fans.
High-fives and screeched greetings were the only reward Borat's sodden fans received from Baron Cohen.
Borat has dismayed the Government of Kazakhstan with his claims that the country's national pastimes are "disco dancing, archery, rape and table tennis."
The Central Asian state cannot work out how to respond. Its enraged president has threatened to sue Baron Cohen and has hired two Western PR companies to denounce Borat's jokes.
But other ministers have said many people are in danger of taking the character too seriously.
Tonight, the Kazakh government attempted to give Baron Cohen a taste of his own medicine by sending a real-life Kazakh TV star, Jantik Baimukhamedov, along to report on the premier.
But he succeeded only in confirming the inept stereotype by arriving late and being refused entry.
Maybe London got off lightly. In Toronto, at the film's world premier last month, Baron Cohen arrived in an oxcart pulled by six women ferrying a donkey in the back
Yes, it looks great. The ability to laugh at somebody who insults everyone equally is the true mark of maturity. ;)
Ha! Those are some of the funniest comments I've ever heard. Bet it was a hoot to be there!
I laughed. I cried. It was much better than 'Cats'.
Oh my God.
Have you seen the trailers? Incredible. http://boratmovie.com/
You might have to hunt for a theatre - they've cut the launch down from 2000+ to 800+.
Okay...just imagining that scene really broke me up.
Here's the trailer of him in Kazakhstan, even funnier IMO http://youtube.com/watch?v=UJ41j3XK8B4
Petronski- have you seen the trailers?
LMAO! I am SO stoked about this.
They were showing the first four minutes of the movies on Youtube.
Some people say they don't think he is funny. Everyone is different. I just about bust a gut when I watch Borat.
If you search 'Borat' on youtube, you will find a number of his bits. There are several guides, such as Borat's guide to baseball, football, hobbies, etc.
""Here the women have more hair on their heads than our women do on their backs but English women not look strong enough to pull a plough."
Me too, can't wait to see it
Nice to see someone recycling and capitalizing on the "Wild and Crazy Guys" sketch from 30 years ago.
I just saw the trailer on YouTube yesterday. What a riot!
Borat, we also have those here in America, except here we call them "kegs of Corona".
Reality= I know a girl from Almaty, Kazakstahn, living here in the states...she's only been here three years but...she's smart, funny, and smoking hot. She's also RUSSIAN, which according to her is a bing difference from being a Kazak...
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