--- title: "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/borat-cultural-learnings-of-america-for-make-benefit-glorious-nation-of-kazakhstan/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/borat-cultural-learnings-of-america-for-make-benefit-glorious-nation-of-kazakhstan" critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 15 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006): what the critics said Critics' score 82 from 15 reviews: 14 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics find the film extremely funny and say so without much qualification. Fourteen of the fifteen reviews are positive, and the praise gathers around Sacha Baron Cohen’s performance and the real, unscripted encounters in which ordinary Americans meet Borat’s bigotry with their own. Several reviews single out the same scenes: the rodeo with its mangled national anthem, and the extended naked fight in a hotel. Larry Charles’s brisk direction earns a mention more than once. The reservations concern depth and shape. The AV Club thinks the film leans on scatological gags rather than on satire, and Screen Daily finds the sketch structure bitty, wearing thin before the end. Several critics warn it will offend, real Kazakhs included, and treat that as the point. Film Comment supplies the lone negative notice, describing Borat as a cretin pushing America’s buttons and finding little else in him. Otherwise the spread is narrow, with most scores bunched near the top. ## Empire — Dan Jolin Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 29 September 2006. Cohen has perfected the prank format by placing the outrageous Borat among real people, delivering an endlessly hilarious and insightful look at American prejudices. It is his finest work, a cult classic in the making that should not be missed by those who can handle the offense. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/borat-review/) ## Slant Magazine Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 October 2006. The critic celebrates Cohen’s ability to create squirm-inducing, slapstick, and inappropriate scenarios that expose prejudice while delivering nonstop laughs through physical performance and absurd visuals. The naked wrestling scene and various confrontations are highlighted as peaks of the film’s subversive humor. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/borat/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 October 2006. The critic calls the film extraordinarily funny, breathtakingly offensive and suicidally discourteous, an anarchic mocu-reality adventure that goes beyond satire. He singles out for praise the real encounters that expose people’s horrified reactions and the surreal rodeo sequence with its absurd national anthem. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/oct/27/comedy.sachabaroncohen) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Kirk Honeycutt Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 12 September 2006. The critic finds the film a wildly inappropriate and hilarious mockumentary that uses crudeness to expose the roots of bigotry and ignorance. The naked hotel fight scene is singled out as a highlight of its boundary-pushing comedy. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/borat-2006-movie-review-943833/) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 December 2006. The film establishes Sacha Baron Cohen as a new master of provocation through his Borat character, whose naive yet hateful worldview leads to hilarious and revealing interactions with Americans. The critic highlights the cruel genius of the satire and urges viewers to see it for the laughs. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/student/magazines/film-reviews-reel-time-427052.html) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 3 November 2006. The critic finds the film a sharp, brainy satire that uses Borat's outrageous persona to expose American prejudices and stupidity while delivering consistent laughs through slapstick and vulgarity. She singles out the film's pitiless social commentary and Baron Cohen's precise comic timing for praise. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/movies/03bora.html) ## The Times — James Christopher Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 2 November 2006. The critic describes the film as one to cherish, noting that Borat's shocking prejudices and barnyard interviews expose the flaws in American open-mindedness more than they mock Kazakhstan. Larry Charles's direction turns the mockumentary into a highlight of the London Film Festival. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/borat-cultural-learnings-of-america-for-make-benefit-glorious-nation-of-kazakhstan-7569k73jvx8) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 2 November 2006. Borat is a textured, intelligent and deeply political comedy that will offend many but delights with its edge and refusal to settle for cheap laughs. The film exposes cultural clashes and controversy while maintaining sharp satirical bite. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/borat-cultural-learnings-of-america-for-make-benefit-glorious-nation-of-kazakstan-review/) ## Variety — Leslie Felperin Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2006. Festival review. The critic calls it an uproariously funny mockumentary whose lead character retains an innocent sweetness that softens the un-PC gags. She praises the brisk direction by Larry Charles and Cohen's ability to generate laughs in nearly every scene while noting it will likely offend some real Kazakhs and the humorless. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2006/film/awards/borat-cultural-learnings-of-america-for-make-benefit-glorious-nation-of-kazakhstan-1200513557/) ## The AV Club — Nathan Rabin Rating B+. 2 November 2006. The review praises the leap to feature length by unleashing Borat on unsuspecting Americans for explosive laughs, especially the extended nude fight scene. It notes the film leans more on scatological gags than deep satire but remains highly effective comedy. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/borat-cultural-learnings-of-america-for-make-benefit-g-1798202224) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2006. The film is a sketch-based mockumentary that explodes with intermittently uproarious results as Borat encounters archetypal Americans and satirizes US pride and prejudice. Cohen's energetic performance keeps Borat engaging, though the structure feels a little bitty and begins to wear thin before the end. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/borat/4028616.article) ## Time Out — Ben Walters Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 19 October 2006. The biggest pleasures lie in watching Sacha Baron Cohen goof off and real people’s incredulity. Plenty to laugh at hard, with relish for the chutzpah of spectacular obscenities like the ‘running of the Jew’. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/borat-cultural-learnings-of-america-for-make-benefit-glorious-nation-of-kazakhstan-1) ## Film Comment — Nathan Lee Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 November 2006. The review portrays Borat as a cretin from Kazakhstan who pushes America's buttons through his mockumentary antics and social provocations. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/issues/november-december-2006/?pdfviewer=issue&pdf-page=24) ## Eye for Film — Anton Bitel Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 12 October 2006. The critic finds Borat the funniest film of the year, praising its unfiltered id-driven comedy and the real, unguarded reactions it provokes from Americans that reveal their own prejudices. The satire is compared favorably to Michael Moore's work but without polemic and with far more laughs. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/borat-cultural-learnings-of-america-for-make-benefit-glorious-nation-of-kazakhstan-film-review-by-anton-bitel) ## The Skinny — Alec McLeod Rating ★★★★. 12 November 2006. The film is a collection of hoax reports as Borat travels across America seeking Pamela Anderson. It indicts real American prejudice and social injustice by presenting the character's fake bigotry as a Trojan horse. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/borat) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/borat-cultural-learnings-of-america-for-make-benefit-glorious-nation-of-kazakhstan.md