The Dictator

Well … maybe more “presided” than “RULED!”

You’re not gonna like this. Sacha Baron Cohen is an artist. He is an artist in the most classic and traditional senses of the word. He would create art at the expense of his popularity. That describes far fewer actors than you’d think. I see SBC as a 2010’s Andy Kaufman — if he isn’t misunderstood, he’d consider himself a failure.

Nobody gets into a character quite like Sacha Baron Cohen, and as Aladeen, The Dictator of the fabricated African republic of Wadiya, Sacha is magnificent in his childlike, narcissistic evil. He’s kind of a cross between Muammar Gaddafi and Idi Amin. All the crazy, and some personality, too. Watch him order the execution of a body guard who got the toy in a box of cereal or the head of his nuclear program for designing rockets with rounded instead of pointy tops. Watch him compete in his self-hosted seventh-rate Olympics or muscle another starlet into his bed, but he has a sensitive side; he never seems to get “the cuddles” afterwards. He’s a multi-dimensional madman.

The Dictator is hilarious. It’s easily the most quotable film of the year. But behind the humor is a subtle questioning of exactly how far our biases extend. When Aladeen is being threatened with torture, he scoffs at the archaic devices threatening him. U.S. torture technology is soooooo 1996.  American agent (John C. Reilly) laments “I don’t even think you want to be tortured.” This is a funny scene, especially at its conclusion where the simple loss of beard by itself transforms Dictator Aladeen into an everyday Joe Camel Jockey. But did you really ask yourself, “is this scene funny because this fellow knows torture backwards and forwards, or is it funny because I naturally assume all Middle Eastern figureheads have an in-depth knowledge or torture”? Maybe it’s just; maybe there is no subtle statement, Sacha Baron Cohen enjoys nothing more than duping not-so-innocents and snickering behind backs. I have no problem believing that a film of his was deliberately intended to vilify those who enjoyed it.

How about a scene in which Aladeen the commoner is called upon to deliver a baby, at the conclusion of which, he deadpans, “Oh it’s a girl. I’m so sorry. Where’s the trashcan?” I laughed out loud for a minute before I bothered asking, “Why am I laughing?” Aw, just roll with it. This is the way figureheads act, isn’t it? Can you picture Mahmoud Ahmadinejad playing the Munich 1972 level of “TerroristHero”? I sure can.

The use of music is especially poignant in The Dictator. Losing all he has and cursed to walk Manhattan alone and penniless, Aladeen stars into windows while the background plays a Farsi version of “Everybody Hurts.” Hilarious, and nothing less. In addition, the drama is underscored by Arabic versions of “9 to 5” and “Let’s Get it On.”

Strangely, The Dictator isn’t a hateful film; Sacha Baron Cohen clearly cares about the villain he portrays. And he has to come to terms with Zoey (Anna Faris) as his new boss and love interest. But perhaps the best part of this parody is what isn’t there. Larry Charles has directed an entire set piece for SBC; there’s no sabotage or off-the -cuff railroading of “innocents” like in Borat or Brüno. Instead, we get a hilarious send up of the alarmingly close relationship between the present US political scene and a dictatorship. Is it fair? Perhaps not. But the fact that one can even make the argument is disquieting.

Rated R, 83 Minutes
D: Larry Charles
W: Sacha Baron Cohen, Alec Berg, David Mandel & Jeff Schaffer
Genre: Mocking
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Anti-Islamic bigots
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Dictators

I know a lot of you hate this film and SBC.  I don’t have a problem with that.  I simply justify my enthusiasm with the opening shot tribute: “In Loving Memory Kim Jong Il.”