Sacha for real

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Running a link to material as dusty and creaky as this is pretty close to unpardonable, but this YouTube video of Sacha Baron Cohen's visit to the Jon Stewart show is truly fascinating. Cohen's natural British accent is mesmerizing...in a very relaxed and affable way. He's witty as shit. On top of which (and for some reason I find this extra-surprising) his hair is thinning. For me, it revives the whole Borat thing because now there's an engaging real-life guy behind the mask. (The James Lipton story is hilarious, by the way.) Cohen needs to try a different Borat p.r. mode and do some follow-up interviews as himself. It adds to the intrigue. Everyone's sick of his in-character routine -- time to shift gears.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 9, 2006 at 3:55 PM

comment #1

Kristopher Tapley says ...

I saw this posted somewhere else recently too. Are people discovering the character of Borat and Sacha Baron Cohen for the first time ever this year? Does no one get HBO?

Posted by Kristopher Tapley at November 9, 2006 4:36 PM

comment #2

austin111 says ...

Yeah, I get HBO. I have to say that Cohen is a very talented guy and I'm sure he's probably a brilliant performer, but his schtick runs a little thin after awhile for me....at least as far as his HBO stuff as Ali G is concerned, or even as some of his other personas. Maybe I'm out of the loop or something, or maybe I should smoke a doobie before watching him, but I just don't find him that funny unstoned. What is it that I'm not getting here??? I guess I'll see Borat (the movie) and maybe I'll find that funnier, but overall I can't get too fired up about it.

Posted by austin111 at November 9, 2006 5:04 PM

comment #3

D.Z. says ...

I thought Jeff would comment on Mahir wanting to sue Cohen for copyright infringement.

Posted by D.Z. at November 9, 2006 5:15 PM

comment #4

ltlewis3 says ...

I get HBO and have never been tempted to watch the guy's show. I didn't know the Borat character at all until I saw the trailer. I took it at face value, and was planning to see it when it came out. I did not realize the guy was actually playing off "real" people, thought the driver school looked like an actor who has been in some stuff. Now that the movies out and those real people are telling their experiences (especially the TV producer who lost her job), I'm completely un-interested in seeing the movie. Just not my thing.

Posted by ltlewis3 at November 9, 2006 5:49 PM

comment #5

Mike Schaefer says ...

I, too get HBO; I had seen a couple of clips of Cohen as Ali G, and I thought (and still do) that that's an extremely tired, one-joke character. So I never watched an entire episode of his show. After seeing him in "Talladega" this summer I was intrigued and so I saw "Borat" last night. Utterly hilarious, a nearly-full house (unheard-of on a weeknight) and clearly word-of-mouth is gonna be thru the roof.

Posted by Mike Schaefer at November 9, 2006 8:42 PM

comment #6

John Y says ...

There's a video of Cohen on Letterman that's worth a look too... he goes through all three of his personas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o10c0UoZvQI

Posted by John Y at November 9, 2006 11:38 PM

comment #7

therealshell says ...

I am wondering if Geoffrey Rush will be available to assay the role of Baron-Cohen in the inevitable HBO biopic.

For what it's worth, Sasha also has a hot fiancee, Isla Fisher.

Posted by therealshell at November 10, 2006 5:37 AM

comment #8

Titus Pullo says ...

'I guess I'll see Borat (the movie) and maybe I'll find that funnier, but overall I can't get too fired up about it.'
'I'm completely un-interested in seeing the movie. Just not my thing.'

Man, any movie that gets a 100% cream of the crop rating at Rotten Tomatoes is must see. Has anyone ever seen a movie get across the board raves like this?
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/borat/

Posted by Titus Pullo at November 10, 2006 10:30 AM

comment #9