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| Courtesy of Paramount |
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
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