Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat is the funniest movie of the year, no question. (I don't know how far back you'd have to go to find something funnier.) It's also one of the most provocative. The Kazakh government has already signaled its displeasure, although given their human rights record it's hardly surprising if they have no sense of humor.

That's a cardinal sin in this movie, which will also outrage the pc police, feminists, and evangelical Christians. It's surely the most anti-Semitic American movie ever made, if you take it as face value. Fortunately the Jewish community has a sophisticated appreciation for the nuances of comedy, even if the Anti-Defamation League worries about the rest of us.

My own review of the film was censored because I used the term "Wigger" to describe Ali G... too offensive for middle-American sensibilities apparently. God knows what they'll make of the movie itself, because Kazakhstan gets off lightly compared to the Red States.

It's no surprise the intelligentsia has embraced this movie, with rave reviews coming in from the critics. But I've yet to read anyone grapple with the morality of the scene in which Borat goes to a Pentecostal Church and 'receives God', all the while spoofing oblivious Born Agains who believe they're saving him. If Baron Cohen staged that stunt in a mosque or a synogogue there would be an outcry. I mean, Jeez, if this isn't blasphemous what is?

Still, I think the most provocative scene - and the funniest - has to be the nude wrestling. I don't know why I should nearly retch at the sight of the ugly, hairy male body (I've seen one before, like, every day) but that was a scene those Jackass boys could never stomach.

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