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The new film Borat:
Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of
Kazakhstan has already outgrossed all other
mockumentaries — fiction films, usually comedies, presented in
documentary format. Mockumentaries have grown in popularity in recent years
but until Borat the
fanbase has been limited. This film completely defied expectations because
of the comedic brilliance of its star and creator, Sacha Baron Cohen. Borat
is a cheerfully idiotic TV personality from Kazakhstan who ventures to
America to learn its culture. The encounters appear to be real, with only a
few that may have been staged, and the dumbfounded reactions of his
unsuspecting victims to his offensive behavior are priceless. One of his
victims is former U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes. I defy anyone to name a
funnier movie made in the last 20 years. Most people think the form began
with This Is Spinal Tap (1984), but the first is likely David
Holzman’s Diary (1967). The reviews for
this cinéma vérité, as they were known back then, were better than it
deserved, but the result of a man documenting his mundane life on film is a
mundane film. The next significant mockumentary was Woody Allen’s Take the Money and Run (1969),
the legendary study of an incompetent criminal who can’t write a
legible holdup note; Allen returned to the form years later with the odd Zelig (1983). Christopher
Guest, one of the stars of Spinal Tap, became the master of the genre with the three successive
gems Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), and A Mighty Wind (2003).
Many of the most interesting examples have slipped by
unnoticed. Sons of Provo (2004) charts the rise of a Mormon boy band, and it was actually
made by Mormons. Yes, they do have a sense of humor, and the movie is
mildly amusing. Besides show biz, perhaps the most popular subject for
mockumentaries is dating and relationships. Unreal
(2004) spoofs the many cable-television
reality dating shows. A camera crew follows a group of New Yorkers who have
recently experienced breakups. Unreal is surprisingly perceptive and witty, and most people
should be able to identify with the situations. Unmade Beds (1997) is a much grittier
portrait of four New Yorkers whose progressing ages make their single lives
less than desirable. Some may question its inclusion as a mockumentary,
because the four “stars” play themselves, but director Nicholas
Barker scripted the entire film on the basis of their interviews. This
obscure gem is available only from mail-based DVD-rental services, but
it’s worth the effort.
New on DVD this Tuesday (Nov. 21): Scoop, Ice Age: The Meltdown, An Inconvenient Truth, and You, Me and Dupree.
New on DVD this Tuesday (Nov. 21): Scoop, Ice Age: The Meltdown, An Inconvenient Truth, and You, Me and Dupree.
