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
I actually never heard of him, surprisingly
It opens November 3rd. Can't wait
He started across the pond a few years ago, then about 5 years ago, the "Ali-G" show was picked up by HBO. Borat is one of the characters/alter-egos on the Ali-G show. Check out the trailers I've provided links to, or check out post #21.
Seems to me that he's read the travel guide to Molvania! It's exactly that kind of humor.
http://www.amazon.com/Molvania-Jetlag-Travel-Santo-Cilauro/dp/1585676195/sr=1-1/qid=1161883135/ref=sr_1_1/002-9718199-3320064?ie=UTF8&s=books
"In my country, they go crazy for these... not so much... [head nod towards the guy's wife>
Priceless!
Dead- check out post 21
Same here. It's going to be great.
He's got cajnes to not worry about being PC. It's amazing
I forgot all about him! LOL
I feel like I need a bath after watching the trailer. Not my kind of humor.
bump for later (@#$%&^%ing firewall!)
In my country, "I was a make ice", "I was a gypsy catcher", and "I worked with animals"... LOL
Sorry, only eyespy had signed up for the ping list prior to today. I'll add you if you like ;-)
I like this guys work. He's pulled off some seriously funny stuff.
Then don't watch post #21... You won't appreciate it
There was a short article in the L.A. Times yesterday about Fox's decision to cut back on the number of theaters where B:CLOAFMBGNOK will be shown. I noticed, however, that the writer must be a fan. The first line refers to it as a "moviefilm".
sure, why not Thanks
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