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| Still from The Dictator |
Anyone who watches Larry Charles' The Dictator should know well what they're getting into based on its Star Sacha Baron Cohen's prior Track Record. Having depended much on the entertaining shock value and the unscripted responses of his Alteregos's unsuspecting victims in Bruno and Borat, much this time around falls on his delivery as an Actor and the strength of his Script. And the results are brilliant … even if horribly wrong to laugh at.
Admiral General Aladeen (Cohen) is the Dictator of Wadiya, a Country he has oppressed for several years from Democracy. Times are changing however, and now no longer able to ignore the demands for change from his People, he flees to the United States working as a Grocery Store Clerk as a springboard to re-enter his Homeland of Wadiya.
Cohen's charm is undeniable in his dual role as the ruthless and endearing Aladeen and also his bullet-taking Decoy. Let's face it, The Dictator without him carrying a majority of the weight here and although deliciously crass, there never is a moment that we fail to see this as a Satire and a passionate statement about the World today. It is a witty acknowledgment of the ironies and hypocrisies of the World we live in, both sides of the continental divide.
Anna Faris is the perfect match to Cohen as his love interest Zoey, unaware yet fully aware of her place in all of this and in a rare moment. we get to see the intense Sir Ben Kingsley deliver the laughs here as Aladeen's plotting Uncle. At once we are delighted by a slew of surprise Cameos including the likes of John C. Reilly, Megan Fox, Jason Sudeikis, Nassim Pedrad and Bobby Lee - all in-on-the joke and loving it. Major laughs. Paramount Pictures releases The Dictator on May 16, 2012.
