Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Directed by Jason Woliner, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan follows Sacha Baron Cohen’s iconic character as he and his daughter (Maria Bakalova’s Tutar) travel from Kazakhstan to the USA to deliver a gift to Vice President Mike Pence. It’s perhaps not surprising to discover that Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan suffers from exactly the sort of hit-and-miss atmosphere one might’ve anticipated, as the film boasts an episodic midsection revolving mostly around Borat and Tutar’s confrontational encounters with various real-life figures – which ensures that certain sequences and segments fare much, much better than others. (Borat’s short-lived stint as a barber isn’t nearly as compelling as Woliner clearly believes, for example.) It’s obvious, then, that the picture benefits substantially from both Cohen and Bakalova’s often stunning work as the central characters, with, especially, the latter delivering an eye-opening turn that enhances the movie’s strong undercurrent of father-daughter drama. (It’s this aspect of the proceedings that pushes it above its entertaining but ultimately underwhelming predecessor.) Woliner and Cohen’s penchant for revealing the ugly side of their subjects lends Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan an often eye-opening feel, to be sure, while the unexpectedly touching and satisfying finale ensures that the whole thing concludes on an exceedingly positive note – which cements the film’s place as a better-than-expected sequel that hopefully marks the start of an ongoing franchise.

*** out of ****