I haven't seen the flick yet, not sure I will but I've seen all the promos. He was on the Daily Show, did OK but then I saw him on Leno's show and jeez, the guy was an a$$ all in all. A bit over the top. Way raunchy. I've never seen Leno wince like that. There does seem to be some redeeming social value in the movie (IMHO) in the way it exposes some people's blatant and unknowing bigotry.
The guy is clearly not stupid and will be crying all the way to the bank regarding people like me not joining in with the cheering throng.
I'm not keen on "humor" that involves sneering and smirking at people we presume to be superior to. I'm probably pissing against the wind on this one. Borat is winning plenty of votes, the sort of which are cast with dollars at box offices. I just get squeamish about this highly pubilc "ugly American" stuff. Yeah, I know Cohen's British but the USA is sure embracing his dragging Kazahks and Slavics in general through the mud.
Of course, censoring such speech is even more problematic. Great debate on NPR recently on the topic: Weighing the Limits of Freedom of Expression. The specific question was summed up thusly: On Oct. 18, six journalists, professors and activists gathered to debate the proposition, "Freedom of expression must include the right to offend." One can hear the
debate online. It was worth the price of admission, IMO.
Philip Gourevitch, Signe Wilkinson, and Christopher Hitchens argued in support of the motion, and Daisy Khan, David Cesarani, and Mari Matsuda argued against the motion.