Trailerspotting scowls at The Dictator
Donald Clarke
Am I alone in not finding the trailer for Sacha Baron Cohen’s new film particularly hilarious? When I spotted the lady breaking bricks with her bosoms a sudden, terrible realisation hit me. We now think of Sacha as the creator of the (to my mind) outrageously funny Borat and the fitful (but amusing) Bruno. But he also created the extraordinarily terrible Ali G Indahouse. That film really was bad enough to call up, for olders viewers, reminders of the films made from such TV series as On the Buses and Are You Being Served? during the 1970s. Nothing in this promo does anything to disabuse me of the notion that Sacha might be drifting back to the dark side.
Now, before anybody else says it, I will, once again, allow that you can’t tell all that much from trailers. But it is not unreasonable to expect that, when making such a beast, the producers extract some of their best jokes. Indeed, comedy is the genre whose trailers most often promise more than they can deliver. Remember, also, that the promo for Borat was one of the best ever released. By the time the film emerged, punters were gagging for that Asian loon.
I hope I’m wrong. But I do not approach the May 11th release with any great enthusiasm
It looks awful.
A lot of what made Borat and Bruno funny were the interactions with Joe Soaps as straight men.
There doesn’t seem to be any of that here. And the material just seems weak.
I seem to remember you writing off ” The Girl With Thje Dragon Tattoo ” ( US Version ) in a simliar vein , going by the trailer alone…………..
Borat and Bruno were done in that mock documentary style. Ali G Indahouse (rubbish, I agree) and The Dictator are scripted fictional comedies. It appears his strength is the former rather than the latter. The gags do seem pretty crap in that trailer alright.
@2
Well, you remember wrongly. As is always the case with this strand I offered speculation as to what the film might be like. As often as possible, I stress that we cannot really learn that much from a trailer.
@4
Care to provide the said post to refresh my memory ?
@5 I think Mr. Clarke’s point at the time was that there was no clip in the Dragon Tattoo trailer longer than a few seconds, so in that sense, it was almost impossible to discern anything about the film, but the trailer itself looked good. It was a teaser dressed up as a trailer.
And the Zeppelin cover was good.
I should probably have googled it. Too late now.
I don’t think you’re alone. It seems to be the on-line consensus that dumping ashed on Ryan Seacrest is the most promising bit of marketting that the movie has received.
Apologies for going off topic, but I wonder is there any sign of an Irish release for Black Pond?
No chance of that I would think, Brendan. It’s far too late now.
@ 6
Well , I wouldnt mind a reminder of the point at the time myself…….
………oh janey…….I laughed at it……….takin’ the p**s out of a “dictator”…….what’s not funny…!!
The state of him………with the beard………and the shades……..little bit hilarious….non?
First time I saw Borat switched it off mid-way thru’ disgusted. The poo scene was wot did it. Yonks later someone persuaded me to give it another go and I laughed til was sick to me ”stomash’. Watched 15 minutes of ”Bruno” and switched it off. Nobody will EVER persuade me to give that another go. Was every scene wot did it. Esp. the one with the little bum-boy tied to the elastic band yeachhh euwwww blargk. But that Dictator looks seriously funny. They’ve hit a fair few memes there. Female bodyguards and all. Does he end up getting shot in the head on camera or hung on camera or just laid out on a USMC slab with all the metal pins and plates ripped out of his leg alongside in a plastic bag for all our delectation? Or does he just end up being ”buried at sea” by some Navy SEALS with no visual evidence whatsoever that it’s him or even that anyone’s been buried at sea, with the reason given that ”we don’t want to upset our Muslim friends” (when it was perfectly alright to upset them with pictures of other dictators laid out on slabs or being hung or even the slight inconvenience of having 1.4 million of their numbers murdered raped and tortured because they were thoughtless enough to be standing on top of a load of hydrocarbons?).
One thing for sure, he won’t get some US Presidential library named after him, nor even a statue in Galway not if the House of Representatives has its way. As it always does. Here. In this damp little dictatorship.