Movie Review: The Dictator

     I've heard a lot of people comment on how they were glad Sacha Baron Cohen was finally doing a scripted movie, that they had grown tired of his act, catching real people doing and saying stupid things just by staying in his own insane character.  There are many reasons for Cohen to distance himself from this style of comedy, a style that he perfected, a style that only true genius can pull off effectivley time and time again, but let's not pretend one of them is because it wasn't funny anymore.  It has to be getting harder for him to surprise people, we're all in on the act now and know what to look for, so the chances of getting one up on people must shrink with every big project he does.  Also, there were a bunch a law suits that came out of Borat and Bruno, the studios must be more then a little nervous each time he heads out making a movie in their name, and nothing stops movies from being made quicker then a nervous studio.  But I don't care what anyone says, Borat is one of the funniest movies ever made and Da Ali G Show was television at its absolute best.  In an era where we remake every money making idea Hollywood has ever stumbbled into, where we beat every mediocre mass appealing concept to death, aren't there worse things that could be made then another Borat style Sacha Baron Cohen movie?
     The Dictator was far from the best comedy I've ever seen.  The lack of laughs has very little to do with the fact that it was scripted and everything to do with the fact that it felt only half realized.  They had a funny premise and a few jokes that went along with the premise and then... nothing.  They tried to turn what might have been a funny segment on Da Ali G Show into an hour and a half movie and there just wasn't enough funny to make it work.  And really, having a script had very little to do with the success of failure of the premise.  Many of the faults the movie had would have been present script or not, like the character feeling a lot like Borat, like all the jokes about extreme prejudice that we've heard Cohen do a million times, like the wafer thin storyline that really just functioned to get us from punchline to punchline.
     Even with it's faults, the movie did have moments of genius.  Fans of Cohen will not be disappointed, he delivers many of the moments they have come to love from his movies; moments of totally inappropriate humor that makes you feel guilty for laughing, moments of completely uncomfortable humor and makes you wince and groan while you laugh at the same time.  His scene helping a customer give birth is as hilarious and uncomfortable as the nude wrestling scene from Borat.  The movie also has a few great performances.  Jason Mantzoukas pulled off another great comedic turn.  The best scenes in the movie showcase Mantzoukas' character Nadal arguing with Cohen's Aladeen.  The two play off each other wonderfully.  Mantzoukas is easily the most underrated funny man in Hollywood.
     If you're a fan of Cohen, even though this movie falls well short of Borat or Bruno, The Dictator is a must see.  It's not going to be the funniest movie you see all year (or at least I hope it won't be the funniest movie I see all year) but it has enough laughs to make it worth the watch.  And for nothing else, you get to see what is hopefully the beginning of Jason Mantozoukas rise to comedy fame.