The Dictator

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UK Release Date: May 16th 2012

The heroic story of a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.

Director: Larry Charles (Borat, Bruno)

Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, Jason Mantzoukas, John C. Reilly

The Dictator sees Sacha Baron Cohen in his first feature length movie stripped of its documentary style filming (Borat, Bruno) and made into a linear story that has its ups and downs. When it's great, it's absolutely hilarious, but the hilarities don't come as often as we'd like. Where Borat (and most of Bruno) relied on awkward humour and surprising the public, The Dictator gambles on improvisation. Mr. Cohen knows that his stint has come to an end. This time, he has grabbed our attention via a fictional leader (Aladeen) and a fictional country (Wadiya), and throwing some political issues into the mix. Aladeen is forced to make a trip to America to discuss Wadiya's nuclear program but ends up isolated and abandoned by those he deemed trustworthy. He needs the help of friends old and new to reinstate his importance. Anna Faris hits the spot with her helpful humanitarian and Ben Kingsley is a surprise to see, but Cohen hogs the limelight with his improv; some of the best bits are in the trailer and we're left with a lot of the hand-me-down of material. Still, it's entertaining enough to see it through to the end.

3/5