The Dictator

Plot: Outrageously crazy dictator Alladeen (Sasha Baron Cohen) runs an imaginary African country, but his aide Tamir (Ben Kingsley) concocts a plot to kill Alladeen, replace him with a double, and then sell the nation's resources to the Chinese and multinational Western companies. Alladeen survives the assassination attempt, and latches on to Zoe (Anna Ferris,) the liberal manager of an organic grocery in Brooklyn -- soon they are flirty and romantic.[imdb link]    [photos]

Review: The Dictator is crazy funny. I laughed so much, my eyes started tearing; really laughing until I cried. 

The Dictator is a satire -- that means it does outrageous and crazy things to make a point, while being entertaining. Don't tell me about how it is so crass and mean-spirited. The politics in this film are actually very liberal, but I am sure many people won't see that. Some people just don't understand satire.  

It is hard to describe how funny the gags are without spoiling them. I loved the funeral gag. I loved the birthing gag. I loved closing speech at the UN. If you like political humor, you will like this more. 

The writing is star of course. I liked Anna Ferris a lot. Sasha Baron Cohen is playing a cartoon character, obviously. You can't really rate his performance based on this emotions. Very different from Hugo.

Cast: Sasha Baron Cohen, Anna Ferris, Ben Kingsley

Directed by: Larry Charles

Rating:   3.0 stars: very funny

More: This is the funniest movie I have seen in a long time. 

Still more: Stay for the out-takes during the credits. 

Yet more: Extreme right-wingers might want to stay home.
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