Review of The Dictator (2012) by Angelina M — 16 Oct 2016

There is no denying that Sacha Baron Cohen is an immense talent and the fact that he attended Cambridge is a testament to his intelligence which, when combined with his comedic prowess, makes him a dangerous talent. With that, and the previews of The Dictator, I prepared for an amusing couple of hours while simultaneously trying to block out the stain that was Bruno.

Sadly, The Dictator was such a disappointment that I struggled to finish it. The plot was passé, the jokes cheesy and it was mostly about shocking the audience. You can't help but wonder how an icon such as Sir Ben Kingsley would've signed up to be in such a farce! Then again, I guess you would have to ask the numerous cameos the same. Yes, there were moments where I did laugh and some of the jokes were witty but they were few and far between. In fact at one moment when the racist bodyguard, played by John C. Riley, is about to murder Cohen's character at the start, I actually wished he did so we could be done with the movie!

Perhaps one needed to be stoned to appreciate the humour or maybe I just didn't get it. If you're a fan of the Scary Movie franchise and Bruno, perhaps The Dictator is right up your alley.