The Scene: Borat has an etiquette lesson
Where: Birmingham, Ala.
Borat visits etiquette instructor Kathie Martin for advice on appropriate dinner party behavior. Most memorably, Borat regales Martin with Polaroids of his very, very naked, teenage son, which Martin, with preternatural poise, suggests he not show to his fellow dinner party attendees.
What happened: Martin was told by producers that a Kazakh documentarian would like to have a lesson before beginning his travels, so as not to embarrass himself. Martin saw the film on Saturday and told us she found that "certain parts were funny, certain parts were not." She told Newsweek, "I would've liked my 15 minutes of fame in this life to have been for something more worthwhile than an R-rated movie."
Her first meeting with Borat was canceled after the crew came to Martin's house and encountered technical difficulties -- but not before Martin had prepared a five-course meal for her guest.
As for the naked pictures, Martin, polite as always, remarked, "It helped that I was not wearing my glasses."
The Scene: Borat eats with a Southern dining society
Where: The dinner took place at the Magnolia Springs Manor in Helena, Ala. The Southern plantation home was built in 1875 and currently functions as an event hall.
Among many transgressions that night, Borat insults the wife of Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church pastor Cary Speaker; after remarking on how popular two of the women would be in Kazakhstan, Borat gestures at Speaker's wife and says, "not so much." Oh, he also brings a bag of his own excrement to the table after using the bathroom, mistakes a retired fellow diner for being retarded, and invites a "prostitute" over for company.
What happened: The Birmingham News reports that Borat's dining companions weren't that upset with how they appeared in the film. "All things considered, we got out of this pretty clean," said the retired Mike Jared.
Speaker, who abruptly left the party after the alleged prostitute arrived, says his attitude is "Hey, he fooled us; it's funny. Watching this, I'm sure it's funny [to some people]. It was just not funny that night."
He adds that his two college-age sons found his appearance "hysterical."
[Updated Nov. 20, 2006:]Though Cindy Streit, the Birmingham etiquette coach who arranged the dinner and instructed Borat on how to correctly flush his feces, told The News I don't think he made a fool of us," she has nonetheless filed a complaint with the California Attorney General, requesting an investigation into possible violations of the California Unfair Trade Practices Act according to the Associated Press. Streit contends that the production company that set-up her meetings with Borat put into writing that the session would be filmed as part of a documentary for Belarus Television and for those purposes only. 20th Century Fox has dismissed her claims, saying that Streit signed a release and was compensated, not once, but twice the second time a number of weeks after her initial meeting with Borat. Streit has not ruled out a lawsuit.
The Scene: Borat goes for humor lessons
Where: Although the film makes it appear as if Borat's humor lessons took place in New York, he visited with humor coach Pat Haggerty, who lives and works in Washington, D.C.
Haggerty instructs Borat to not make jokes about the "retard" brother Borat keeps in a cage, and that perhaps it's not the best idea to tell people about having sex with his mother-in-law. Borat also proves himself to be a quick study when it comes to the subtle timing of the "not" joke -- not!
What he said: Haggerty told the BBC News that about halfway through their session he realized "this guy can't be real." Aware that he was being made to play the straight man, Haggerty continued with the lesson because "they paid me my money and they deserve an hour of my time." According to the same story, the public speaking coach is hoping his appearance in the film will give his career a boost. "The only downside is if I appear to be a fool."
The Scene: Borat talks to the Veteran Feminists of America
Where: New York
Borat sits down with three members of the Veteran Feminists of America, informs them that women have smaller brains than men do, and inquires about "Baywatch." He also cajoles one to "listen, pussycat, smile a bit," without much luck. (To view some of the scene, go here.)
What happened: Linda Stein, Grace Welch and Carole De Saram were told by producers that they would be appearing in a documentary to help women in Third World countries. Stein says she has mixed feelings about the incident. She finagled her way into an advance screening of the film and found some parts of the film funny, but thinks "the joke appeals more to men than women."
Welch, a yoga instructor, found the whole incident funny. "What he does, he does very well, so I don't feel anger," she told the British Observer. "I was inclined very much to laugh at the event." As a result of the encounter she did go see "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," thinking it was "Borat." "I had to soldier on to watch that," she said. "I don't usually go to those kinds of pictures."
Cohen's Borat act was thoroughly convincing. Though Stein threw him out of the interview twice, she readily admits that "at no point during the whole event, as angry as I may have gotten, did it ever occur to me this was a comedian acting." The producer was able to sweet-talk the women into speaking with Borat again after the first heave-ho (the second time around, Borat asked the women to take off their tops). "Please," Stein says the producer begged, "he's from a third-world country, help him. He doesn't know any better." The producer then admonished Borat in a stage whisper, "You can't talk to American women this way."
When Stein told Borat that women in America can do anything men can, be president, secretary of state ("Oh, like that chocolate lady?" Borat replied) or even a reporter, Borat argued, "No. I can lift a chair!" At which point he stood up and lifted a chair. Not to be outdone, Stein lifted a chair as well. "I can lift two chairs," Borat countered, lifting two chairs. Stein did the same. And she now takes exception to the omission of this scene from the film. "He didn't choose the segments that really make the point that women are equal and strong. He didn't make the point with sexism that perhaps he did with anti-Semitism and homophobia."
Next page: Explained: The prostitute, the local TV station and Pamela Anderson
