Chances are that you haven’t done much international travelling in the past seven months. The most you’ve probably been able to do is ride the 506 Westbound from Chinatown to Little Italy. In the meantime, you can travel vicariously with the following two hapless and naïve travellers who have much more in common than might appear at first.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: streaming on Amazon Prime
Crude, prude, and almost nude, famed Kazhak journalist Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) returns to the United States of America in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, the sequel to his 2004 travel documentary that originally catapulted him to fame. Borat is joined this time by his stowaway teenage daughter Tutar (Maria Bakalova), whom he endeavours to sell to Vice President Michael Pence (pronounced PEN-is) as a token of friendship between the Kazahk and American nations.
Of course, this doesn’t go as planned. Due to the wild success of the first Borat film, Borat must now disguise himself in order to accomplish his mission unimpeded and distracted by his fans. But Borat and Tutar’s unfamiliarity with American customs is their main obstacle. This unfamiliarity was the original film’s comedic engine, and that same formula is repeated here. Most of the comedy comes from encounters with unsuspecting Americans, unaware they are being used in the service, or as the punchline, of a joke. One hilarious scene has a pastor at a women’s clinic grapple with the difficult task of telling Tutar that she must keep the baby her father apparently put inside her – when in fact Borat accidentally fed her a plastic cupcake topper in the shape of a baby.
This “unfamiliarity” is really just Cohen taking American customs to their logical conclusions under the disguise of the ignorant foreigner. In the first few minutes, this shtick felt old and uncomfortable when performed on otherwise innocent store owners and bystanders. However, this leads to moments of sincerity later in the film which really lend the film its power. In one memorable scene, a babysitter looking after Tutar gives her a genuine and heartfelt speech to boost Tutar’s self-esteem. Another strange sequence shows Borat (despite acting as obnoxiously as he can) on the receiving end of the hospitality and friendship of two far-right, conspiracy-believing, gun-toting, and racist militia men. In a rather shocking scene that is too good to spoil here, an elderly Holocaust survivor treats Borat with much more patience and kindness than he deserves. But even then, Borat will still use someone who deserves to be a punchline and exploit them for maximum impact – the now-infamous scene with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani being the prime example.
However, although Borat Subsequent Moviefilm still hits its comedic marks and provides genuine shocks, it still lacks some of the guerilla charm of its prequel.
Emily In Paris: streaming on Netflix
If Kazakhstan were to create an reverse version of Borat – showing an ignorant and naïve American butting up against a foreign culture – as revenge for having their country misrepresented by a caricature, Emily In Paris would be a template they might want to take inspiration from.
Created by Darren Star (Beverly Hills 90210, Sex and the City), the show follows Emily Cooper (Lilly Collins) as she takes up a job in Paris asking for an “American perspective” at a French marketing firm. Her naïveté and complete ignorance of the French language and culture is tempered by an supernatural amount of unearned confidence, enthusiasm, and luck. She constantly butts up against her new boss Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) who has nothing but contempt for Emily’s ideas and happy-go-lucky attitude – and because Emily seems to be a rival for the attention of her lover Antoine (William Abadie). This all happens against a dizzyingly Parisphilic backdrop of vibrant haute couture, cuisine, and architecture that seems like a Disneyland version of France.
During the first episode, you might wonder: Who should I be rooting for? Indeed, it’s a question that the show seems to enjoy not answering, as almost everyone seems to be right and wrong to some degree. Emily, although having the advantage of being the heroine, seems to possess a charm so magnetic that almost nothing is an obstacle to getting what she wants. Her French co-workers, and every other French person for that matter, come off as snooty and condescending, but also justified in their resistance to someone whom they view as a cultural invader and dilettante.
Like Borat, the main driver of the show’s comedy occurs when Emily encounters some misunderstanding based on her unfamiliarity with French culture. In one scene, for instance, Emily accidentally sinks a deal between her marketing firm and a famed designer because she carries on her purse an Eiffel tower charm (the designer calls her “ringarde” – French for “basic bitch”). Unlike Borat, however, there are hardly any moments of true sincerity or recognition with the Other. Yes, eventually Emily does learn to be a bit more “Parisian” instead of just being an “American in Paris,” and likewise the French end up warming up to her. But a recurring motif throughout the show is that Emily’s zest and joie de vivre always beat out the classic French ennui and save the day.
Then again, I’m not expecting a satire out of Emily in Paris like I would with Borat. If anything, Emily in Paris does surpass expectations in the dick joke department. For every joke that Borat makes about the length of chram, there are a dozen puns about how great a coq au vin tastes. Overall, the show is good for what it is: a five-hour binge watch that lets you reminisce about that amazing croque monsieur you had in Paris that one time you went on exchange in high school for a month, or about the one you’re about to make for lunch in between your morning and afternoon Zoom lectures.