This film is a comedic look at serious topics such as communism, feminism, racism, and other ethical problems of today's society. "The Dictator" (Larry Charles, 2012) stars Sacha Baron Cohen as the leading character "Aladeen," dictator of Wadiya and Anna Faris as "Zoey," an American idealist. This is a film that would entertain people with a worldly view and understanding of proper behavior. Closed-minded individuals would probably not "get" the sense of humor of "The Dictator."
The Helicopter Ride
So, basically, the story has a dictator that would normally be the antagonist in any other film become the hero and makes the viewer root for him to succeed in saving his dictatorship to avoid the country's democratic constitution's passing and allowing a greedy conspirator Tamir (Ben Kingsley) to sell oil rights to the "Big 3" executives. It's a comical look at the what-ifs in the Osama Bin Laden instance; it pokes fun at America's values and ethics. The funniest to me was the helicopter scene, where Aladeen and Nadal (Jason Mantzoukas) are talking in their own language about New York's tourist attractions (Statue of Liberty and fireworks) and reference a prior conversation about Bin Laden being a freeloading houseguest after his body double was killed. Do you see where this is headed? The older couple only understand certain words and combine gestures--it's crazy! (Statue of Liberty+mimic of fireworks explosion+Bin Laden=terrorist, right?) Aladeen's goat-loving body double is acting on the conspirator's behalf and his stupidity is comic relief throughout the film. He orders anyone who he perceives as disagreeing with him to be executed but finds out in America none were actually killed--they all live in NY with a common hatred of him. He meets an American woman, Zoey, who he compares to a boy physically, laughs at her hairy armpits, yet ends up being rescued by her many times. She teaches him that most of his stereotypes and prejudices have been wrong in her own naive way. I won't spoil the ending, but know that you will feel torn near the end of the film whether to root for his failure or success: the lesser of two evils, I suppose.
Zoey gets Aladeen from the police station
The characters were hilarious, even when they were wrong. They are so dysfunctional that you have to laugh at their prejudices because they don't know any better. Zoey is an extremist to NOT having prejudices to the point that she doesn't show proper leadership in managing her business. The non-speaking characters, such as the women guards, are like the Austin Powers women guards in their portrayal. Even the scientist creating the nuclear missile falls into a comedic stance by arguing with Aladeen whether the tip of the missile should be round or pointed.
Bright colors and lighting, fake beards, and a corpse head used as a prank all help to keep the comedic feel of the film. The music even was hilarious: one part had a long introduction of a familiar Snoop Dogg song and as soon as I bobbed my head the words came on and were Middle Eastern sounding rather than English! (Rather than the "D-O-double G" it was "the Aladeen".) I noticed several times the soundtrack was used to keep the laughs rolling. Within the plot, the dictator was made lovable because none of the people he ordered to be executed were dead. Otherwise it would have been harder to get the audience to sympathize with him.
Female Soldiers
Once again, I would say that only certain people will understand the humor in this film. Honestly, "Family Guy" fans will love it. The people who are being placed in the spotlight of the film, like stereotyping racists and those who believe girl babies should be thrown in the garbage will probably not like the film. Oh, and if you have a problem with sexual humor this is not the film for you either. Otherwise, you will fall out laughing while watching this film.
“Men in Black III” (Barry Sonnenfeld, 2012) stars Will Smith
& Tommy Lee Jones in encore performances with Josh Brolin as Agent K’s
younger self. Without taking away from the two others’ importance in setting up
for this film, this was the best MIB yet.
We have the characters setup in prior films, so in their
usual manner Agent J talks too much and Agent K rarely talks. MIB (the first
one) is key to the story because K recruits K, and MIB 2 sets up their loving
rivalry partnership that is in a strain at the beginning of this film. Will
Smith’s character wants to know why his partner is so secretive and where did
his liveliness go—if it ever existed. The villain, Boris the Animal (Jermaine
Clement) spent 40 years in maximum security on the moon and resents K for blowing
his arm off before his arrest. Boris wants to save his race by taking over the
planet Earth and uses time travel to go back and stop K from preventing the
takeover. Presently, K ceases to exist and aliens are invading earth. So J also
goes back in time the day before Boris and K have a standoff to keep K from
being killed. Long story short, they save the planet and K—but Agent J learns
what exactly happened back then to change K’s life so much. Young K is more
talkative, philosophical, and has his eye on Agent O. By the end of the film, J
and K’s partnership is solidified and will never be questioned again.
'Boris the Animal'
It would be unrealistic to pretend not to notice the
characters’ aging. I couldn’t help being distracted from remembering the first
time I saw MIB in the 90s (1997). It makes the characters sort of like family,
and this film did just that. Rather than try to make the story pick up at MIB
2, it allowed for aging. Even Smith’s character says, “I’m getting too old for
this…” Brolin does a great job at playing a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones’
character. And Jones is always the same character. Clement was convincing as
the antagonist. Even when his future and past selves face off, it is a great
scene. He is the same yet distinguishes between the two at different levels of
“know-it-all” villain.
1969 Agent O
The film’s theme is consistent with the other two, and there
is no transition of viewer imagination required to follow the story. The
effects were in true MIB comedic style. I liked the alien fish that talked on
the stove. The neuro-transponder dialogue was not as witty as it has been in
the past, but the film fully makes up for it in plot. Music was used heavily to
set the mood once the story moved back to the 60s, but the wardrobe,
hairstyles, and automobiles made the transition smooth as well. It was hilarious when 60s Agent K pulls out a cell phone as big as a 2-liter soda.
Whether you are a MIB fan or not, you will enjoy this film if you
have watched another one. The story has matured as much as its 90s audience
has, and the end is tear-worthy—so have your tissues ready. It is still a
comedic/action/sci-fi/thriller film with a family twist at the end. I’d
recommend to see it!
