The tone of "The Dictator" is set early on with a
fake in memoriam card before the titles to Kim Jong-Il, the autocratic leader
of long-suffering North Korea. Sacha Baron Cohen, known for his character
comedy with Ali G, Borat and Bruno, has created a new persona with which to
satirise the wealthy dictators of the world. General Aladeen is a
simple-minded, arrogant, bigot, completely oblivious to everything but his own
tiny world. He lives a life of luxury as the leader of an oil-rich North
African country (a less than subtle nod to General Gaddafi). When his uncle
conspires to get rid of him and replace him with a puppet president his beard
is shaved off and Aladeen is left to wander around New York city, finding
employment at an organic foodstore and an unexpected friend in the person of
Zoe (Anna Faris).
The film's humour is in incredibly poor taste, veering from
slapstick to political satire. There are a number of great jokes in here if you
enjoy this kind of humour, but there are also points where the writing
seriously lets the film down. The main problem is with the tonal shifts between
laughing at the stupidity of the character, and then presenting some
hard-hitting satire that doesn't quite gel with the other style of comedy. The
over the top humour means that you never really feel invested enough in the
characters to empathise when more serious topics are raised. I do feel that the
world was ready for this film. From Charlie Chaplain's "The Great
Dictator", these totalitarian regimes offer a rich seam of comedy, and
puncturing the pomposity of these individuals is always something to be
applauded. Unfortunately, this film offers mostly tired cliches about muslims,
child-abuse, their hatred of Jews, and other well-rehearsed jokes. There are
some great satirical moments poking fun at Western ideas of democracy, the
conflict between radical left and right ideologies, but for the most part it is
simply escapist fun. A few funny lines, crude humour, and a fairly unoriginal
plot about seeing the world from another perspective. If you are a fan of his
other films, you will probably enjoy this, but it feels like much more could
have been done with this premise.
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