The Dictator

Director: Larry Charles

Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley

Rated: 18a

Running time: 83 minutes

Sacha Baron Cohen can no longer do what he used to do. With his relative obscurity (save for the cult following of Ali G Indahause), Sacha was able to create an all-new breed of intelligent, ballsy, jackassatainment. His follow-up, Bruno, was not as funny or successful, so this time people are right to be cautious. Thankfully he went back to his Indahause straight-up comedy roots and it’s very funny.

The curtain opens with a black background and the words “In loving memory,” then fades to a full screen face shot with the words “Kim Jong Il.” The audience laughed and I knew this was going to be a good time had by all.

The story is of Admiral General Aladeen, an insanely oil-wealthy dictator who is developing, what else, nuclear power. Quickly he is requested to the U.N. and while in New York the resistance movement, led by Aladeen’s right-hand man (Ben Kingsley) sends him into the world to fend for himself.

Of course much hilarity ensues simply because of the sheer number of jokes being thrown at every moment. Slapstick, crude, satirical, juvenile and biting, it’s a cornucopia of comedy. And when it comes time to throw down some biting satire, it’s thrown down with a fantastically sharp tongue. One particular scene will no doubt be making the YouTube rounds before the year is out.

If you are easily offended and have no sense of humour, then you probably stopped reading at the word “jackassatainment,” so why am I even spending time on you? The rest of you, however, grab a friend and go out for a laugh with the Dictator. You’ll be glad you did.