When a movie begins with, “In loving memory of Kim Jong Il,” you know it is going to be hilarious. The Dictator was just that.
The Dictator is the story of Admiral General Aladeen (Sacha Baron Cohen) who rules the fictional country of the Republic of Wadiya. When the United Nations discovers that Wadiya is developing nuclear weapons, Aladeen visits New York City, where he is shortly kidnapped where he has his trademark beard shaved off making him unrecognizable.
However, Aladeen escapes and encounters his old friend, Nadal, who works together with him to prevent the introduction of democracy in Wadiya without his trademark beard.
Before you watch The Dictator, directed by Larry Charles, you should know one thing. You will be offended. But, that shouldn’t stop you from seeing the funniest movie I have seen in months
For example, I was stunned (although not surprised considering this was co-written by Baron Cohen) that a 9/11 joke was made. But, the next thing I knew I’m laughing at the fact that Aladeen changed words, in Wadiya’s language, such as positive, negative, open, and closed to “Aladeen,” causing hilarious confusion throughout the movie.
Compared to other films that Sacha Baron Cohen has starred in, The Dictator was not that inappropriate, which isn’t saying much. However, due to the racist and sexual jokes, I would strongly suggest not bringing your grandmother to accompany you, because no grandmother wants to hear an AIDS joke.
While the plot often seemed choppy, and there were parts lasting maybe five minutes with out anything funny said, the rest of the movie more than made up for these stretches.
The only other negative criticism I have for an otherwise fantastic movie was the predictable ending. Comedies don’t have to end happily, they should end funny, and The Dictator left me disappointed as I think I laughed once in the final ten minutes.
However, you should definitely see this movie. Just be prepared to be see more of Baron Cohen than you bargained for, but hopefully you’ll be laughing so hard you won’t even notice.
