REVIEW: The Dictator

Courtesy of Paramount

I’m happy to report that Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator, which abandons the “fake character ambushes real people” format he perfected with Borat and Bruno, is much better than its horrid trailers and Cohen’s lackluster promotional appearances suggested. It’s really funny, obviously the most important benchmark a comedy should meet. It’s also incredibly offensive, which shouldn’t come as news to anyone familiar with the actor’s work.

Cohen plays Admiral General Aladeen, the tyrannical leader of Wadiya, a fictional country supposedly located in North Africa. Think about the traits exhibited by whacked-out rulers like Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi, and then crank them to the maximum level. Now you’ve got Aladeen. He basks in his wealth and power, despite the fact that everyone in Wadiya despises him. He’s even forced to hire Hollywood starlets if he wants to seem desirable.

Through a series of convoluted betrayals and schemes that aren’t really important to the story, Aladeen ends up stranded in New York City with his trademark beard removed, forced to watch as his uncle (Ben Kingsley) uses a lookalike to trick the United Nations. He ends up connecting with a hipster grocery store owner named Zoey (Anna Faris), who naturally represents everything he hates. She attempts to teach him the error of his ways, but it goes about as well as you’d expect.

What I enjoyed most is about The Dictator is it’s conventional narrative. Ordinarily that wouldn’t be a compliment, as it seems to suggest a lack of creativity. But that’s not what I mean. I like that it’s a regular movie, filled with performers who are completely in on the joke. Larry Charles’ straightforward direction helps in that respect.

Cohen’s last couple of movies reveled in cringe comedy – a style I’ve never been a fan of – and found much of their humor in unsuspecting non-actors (however deserving of mockery they might’ve been). That’s not the case with The Dictator, as the screenplay (credited to Cohen, Alec Berg, Dave Mandel and Jeff Schaffer) makes Aladeen the target of almost every joke. I found myself more open to the flick as a result, which I admit is completely a matter of taste.

As with his past characters, Cohen fully commits to portraying Aladeen. But he’s basically a live action cartoon, so his gung-ho performance causes most of his co-stars to fade into the background. Charles throws in a bunch of celebrity cameos to help the situation, but they’re so brief they barely make an impression.

If you’re a fan of Cohen’s work, I don’t think The Dictator will disappoint. No, it isn’t as shocking and innovative as Borat. But the jokes fly nonstop and most of them work (especially Aladeen’s phenomenal speech at the end on why dictatorships are important). I have to admit that’s more than I was expecting.

The Dictator is rated R for strong crude and sexual content, brief male nudity, language and some violent images.

Grade: B