The Dictator

J’ai longtemps résisté à Sacha Baron Cohen, un peu moins avec avec Borat et à ce stade, je n’ai plus de résistance du tout. J'aime le fait qu'il traite tout le monde de manière égale et équitable, qu'il n'épargne personne et qu'il a la chance de pouvoir se permettre de le faire même avec Israël, là où un autre réalisateur ou écrivain aurait facilement pu, pour des blagues similaires, perdre sa carrière ou la voir interrompue pendant plusieurs années. The Dictator mêle tous les dictateurs célèbres auxquels on peut penser et n’est clairement pas ennuyeux. La courte durée du film se prête à un rythme soutenu et à un cocktail délirant d'humour absolument éhonté. Les visages familiers sont au rendez-vous, ne fût-ce que pour quelques secondes, et Anna Faris change même de coupe et de couleur de cheveux. (23/12/2022)

It seems to me that Sacha Baron Cohen will not be able to replicate the success of Borat. He failed with Brüno and this time he gave up on the documentary form and tried a real film with a real plot... And although it turned out better, it's also often kind of contradictory. There are many hilarious situations, but also a lot of unnecessary (and repeated) “jokes", plus a pretty lame ending that, in my opinion, only pretends to take a shot at similar clichés. Three and a half. (27/07/2014)

The transition to full fiction doesn’t fit Cohen at all. Where Borat and Bruno were sharply satirical thanks to their documentary format, which allowed average Americans to make complete fools of themselves, The Dictator is only eager and a little vapid. Cohen barks and bites in every direction again, but this time it feels as if instead of proper fangs, he had fake teeth. Some of the scenes are incredibly funny (birth! head! onanism!), but I was struck by a great deal of slag (so-so jokes) and many scenes that spend minutes lazily bordering the cringe, only to fizzle out without producing anything very funny (the scene on the helicopter that looked good in the trailer is ruined in the film). There are some good moments, but I expected (and wanted) something much sharper. 6+ (25/05/2012)

A dictatorial charge of incorrectness, terrorism against good taste. This is goes beyond Borat and Bruno. It's a carnival of unrestrained villainy, trampled taboos and desecrated models. In a messed up world, The Dictator reminds me of an island of common sense, where democracy = the opportunity to laugh freely at everyone and everything (from phobias through the genre clichés of romantic comedy to the absurdity of the time). It has weaknesses, but I let them go. To the question of whether it was more aladeen or aladeen, I answer clearly: it was absolutely ALADEEN. The craziest mainstream satire in recent years, which makes Zohan just another shaved activist... (btw, finally someone adequately expressed the romance of samohana) (11/05/2012)

I don't often reach for crazy stuff like this, but I'm glad I made an exception this time. I had a good time watching an American comedy for the first time in a while. Of course, we all have different senses of humor, which is why our opinions on comedy are often very contradictory. I have only one yardstick – the amount of quality and sincere laughter. And Aladdin made me giggle several times. The ideal running time spared us unnecessary dead spots that have no place in a comedy. Even though I'm not at all a fan of S.B. Cohen, he was quite tolerable here. 4 stars. (04/10/2012)