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Will Sacha Baron Cohen's undercover series be the TV event of the year? Shot in secrecy, the satirist's new show Who Is America? sees him take aim at Trump and the US political elite. It looks set to be something truly special
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Ubiquitous
Jul 11, 2018, 7:23:42 AM7/11/18
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It is, by all accounts, a startling clip. A vaguely recognisable
offscreen voice asks “Is it possible to sign my waterboard kit?”
Then Dick Cheney – the real Dick Cheney – replies with a chirpy
“Sure!”. After scrawling his name on a beaten-up bottle, he
gleefully declares “That’s the first time I’ve ever signed a
waterboard!” Ladies and gentlemen, Sacha Baron Cohen is back.
Baron Cohen’s new series, Who is America?, feels like an ambush.
Announced just this week, it premieres in the UK and the US less
than a week from now. Very little is known about Who is America? and
that’s possibly for good reason. It promises to “explore the diverse
individuals, from the infamous to the unknown across the political
and cultural spectrum, who populate the unique nation”. Its billing
as “the most dangerous show in the history of television” makes it
sound less of a programme and more of a prison-yard shanking. The
secrecy, you imagine, is likely due to the high-profile targets and
the viciousness with which they are going to be taken down.
If Who is America? can go after Dick Cheney – a cuddly grandfather
at this stage, yes, but an arch-villain of his time – then the sky
is practically the limit. In a tweet, rightwing commentator Matt
Drudge warned that Sarah Palin, Howard Dean, Bernie Sanders and Ted
Koppel were among those who had joined Cheney in falling prey to
Baron Cohen. However, don’t expect the elephant in the room to go
unignored either.
https://youtu.be/-gx70yWboTs
The first anybody knew about the series was when Baron Cohen posted
a video addressed to Donald Trump on Independence Day. Baron Cohen’s
Twitter bio is the following Trump quote: “They should have
pummelled him (Baron Cohen) to the ground. It would have been
great.” All signs suggest that Trump is squarely in Baron Cohen’s
crosshairs, and it’s personal. Even if it ends up misfiring, Who is
America? is going to be must-watch television.
It couldn’t come at a better time for the comic, either. This sort
of thing – undercover, disguised, drawing out unwitting prejudices –
is absolutely what he does best. It is astute and it is cruel and it
is merciless. Nothing hits quite has hard when it is being used to
make a point about the state of the world.
But it’s also designed to self-destruct on impact; as soon as Baron
Cohen finds any kind of success with one approach, the jig is
already up. Ali G stopped being a feasible vessel the second he
appeared on television, for the simple reason that he was too
instantly recognisable. It was the same with Borat. Bruno didn’t
even make it that far, since by that point Baron Cohen was far too
famous to get under the skin of his victims.
Compared to his pranks, the rest of Baron Cohen’s work suffers from
almost terminal mundanity. Scripted fare such as The Dictator and
Grimsby tends to labour under the weight of route-one crudeness. His
actor-for-hire performances in Hugo and Alice Through the Looking
Glass are competent enough, but no role yet has quite managed to
fully capture his brazen impishness.
Who is America? has the potential to be a powerful return to form.
Better yet, it seems as if Baron Cohen has learned some valuable
lessons about sustainability along the way. The smattering of
publicity so far revolves around a cast of characters, rather than
one, which suggests that he has created something of a revolving
panel. This means that if a character happens to enjoy a Borat-style
breakout, then he can be dropped from the lineup without much
disruption.
Also, it’s worth pointing out, none of the characters hinted at so
far are as two-dimensionally comical as, say, Ali G. With Who is
America? Baron Cohen seems to have realised the potential in
relative anonymity. It’s the pranks that matter here, not the
prankster.
Of course, things could always go wrong. Baron Cohen could, as is
his wont, end up milking the life out of his characters until we’re
all sick of them. The most notorious case here is Ali G who – thanks
to a barrage of spinoffs and music videos – quickly became Baron
Cohen’s Mr Blobby.
But, if he can resist this urge, and if he can maintain the power of
the Cheney clip, then Who is America? has the potential to be
nothing less than the defining television programme of our age.
Just, please, don’t let Waterboard Guy appear in any Madonna videos.
--
Dems & the media want Trump to be more like Obama, but then he'd
have to audit liberals & wire tap reporters' phones.
offscreen voice asks “Is it possible to sign my waterboard kit?”
Then Dick Cheney – the real Dick Cheney – replies with a chirpy
“Sure!”. After scrawling his name on a beaten-up bottle, he
gleefully declares “That’s the first time I’ve ever signed a
waterboard!” Ladies and gentlemen, Sacha Baron Cohen is back.
Baron Cohen’s new series, Who is America?, feels like an ambush.
Announced just this week, it premieres in the UK and the US less
than a week from now. Very little is known about Who is America? and
that’s possibly for good reason. It promises to “explore the diverse
individuals, from the infamous to the unknown across the political
and cultural spectrum, who populate the unique nation”. Its billing
as “the most dangerous show in the history of television” makes it
sound less of a programme and more of a prison-yard shanking. The
secrecy, you imagine, is likely due to the high-profile targets and
the viciousness with which they are going to be taken down.
If Who is America? can go after Dick Cheney – a cuddly grandfather
at this stage, yes, but an arch-villain of his time – then the sky
is practically the limit. In a tweet, rightwing commentator Matt
Drudge warned that Sarah Palin, Howard Dean, Bernie Sanders and Ted
Koppel were among those who had joined Cheney in falling prey to
Baron Cohen. However, don’t expect the elephant in the room to go
unignored either.
https://youtu.be/-gx70yWboTs
The first anybody knew about the series was when Baron Cohen posted
a video addressed to Donald Trump on Independence Day. Baron Cohen’s
Twitter bio is the following Trump quote: “They should have
pummelled him (Baron Cohen) to the ground. It would have been
great.” All signs suggest that Trump is squarely in Baron Cohen’s
crosshairs, and it’s personal. Even if it ends up misfiring, Who is
America? is going to be must-watch television.
It couldn’t come at a better time for the comic, either. This sort
of thing – undercover, disguised, drawing out unwitting prejudices –
is absolutely what he does best. It is astute and it is cruel and it
is merciless. Nothing hits quite has hard when it is being used to
make a point about the state of the world.
But it’s also designed to self-destruct on impact; as soon as Baron
Cohen finds any kind of success with one approach, the jig is
already up. Ali G stopped being a feasible vessel the second he
appeared on television, for the simple reason that he was too
instantly recognisable. It was the same with Borat. Bruno didn’t
even make it that far, since by that point Baron Cohen was far too
famous to get under the skin of his victims.
Compared to his pranks, the rest of Baron Cohen’s work suffers from
almost terminal mundanity. Scripted fare such as The Dictator and
Grimsby tends to labour under the weight of route-one crudeness. His
actor-for-hire performances in Hugo and Alice Through the Looking
Glass are competent enough, but no role yet has quite managed to
fully capture his brazen impishness.
Who is America? has the potential to be a powerful return to form.
Better yet, it seems as if Baron Cohen has learned some valuable
lessons about sustainability along the way. The smattering of
publicity so far revolves around a cast of characters, rather than
one, which suggests that he has created something of a revolving
panel. This means that if a character happens to enjoy a Borat-style
breakout, then he can be dropped from the lineup without much
disruption.
Also, it’s worth pointing out, none of the characters hinted at so
far are as two-dimensionally comical as, say, Ali G. With Who is
America? Baron Cohen seems to have realised the potential in
relative anonymity. It’s the pranks that matter here, not the
prankster.
Of course, things could always go wrong. Baron Cohen could, as is
his wont, end up milking the life out of his characters until we’re
all sick of them. The most notorious case here is Ali G who – thanks
to a barrage of spinoffs and music videos – quickly became Baron
Cohen’s Mr Blobby.
But, if he can resist this urge, and if he can maintain the power of
the Cheney clip, then Who is America? has the potential to be
nothing less than the defining television programme of our age.
Just, please, don’t let Waterboard Guy appear in any Madonna videos.
--
Dems & the media want Trump to be more like Obama, but then he'd
have to audit liberals & wire tap reporters' phones.
Ubiquitous
Jul 11, 2018, 7:28:25 AM7/11/18
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