Baron Cohen buries Borat, resurrects Bruno

On Dec. 21, in an interview with the UK’s Daily Telegraph, actor Sacha Baron Cohen announced the retirement of his two most popular alter egos -- hip-hop wannabe Ali G and Kazakh journalist Borat. Not everyone was heartbroken by the news. To begin with, there’s the multitude of people pranked by his feature film, 2006’s “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”; Baron Cohen has jokingly estimated the number of resulting lawsuits as “about 3,000.”

But even his harshest critics would probably admit that no one in the comedy game can match Baron Cohen’s chutzpah (who else could have unleashed the “Borat” movie months after Mel Gibson’s DUI arrest, making it safe for Americans to laugh at brainless anti-Semites again?). And if “Borat’s” $128-million box-office take is any indication, his reckless style of humor has more admirers than detractors these days. One fan is Steven Spielberg, who has reportedly signed Baron Cohen to portray 1960s political trickster Abbie Hoffman in the upcoming “Trial of the Chicago Seven,” scripted by Aaron Sorkin.

Before that, Baron Cohen will unleash another feature film starring a character from his now-defunct HBO pro- gram “Da Ali G Show” -- this time, it’s Bruno, his gay-fashionista-from-Austria creation. “Bruno’s” deal is already the stuff of Hollywood legend: Universal paid a hefty $42.5 million for the project.

To think it all started with a pair of sly idiots, Ali G and Borat.

Ali G first gained a following in the 1990s by duping interviewees on Britain’s “11 O’ Clock Show,” a late-night program that also launched the career of “The Office’s” Ricky Gervais. Gervais, Steve Coogan and Baron Cohen’s other contemporaries followed in the British comedy tradition of intelligent men doing stupid things.

Ali G, however, had more in common with American humor of the day -- when stupidity is so all-encompassing that it takes on sublime logic. (Think Homer Simpson; every Will Ferrell role; and perhaps Eminem, whose misogyny, homophobia and general cartoonishness made him dangerously close to a real-life Ali G.)

Borat Sagdiyev was an even earlier creation. His primal incarnation was a prankish audition tape that caught the eye of UK television’s Channel 4 and landed the young Baron Cohen his first high-profile gigs. At that point, the character was an Albanian reporter named Kristo. Compared with the twisted depths he would eventually plumb, early Borat wasn’t that far removed from Andy Kaufman’s sweet-natured “Foreign Man.”

It wasn’t until Baron Cohen revived Borat for the original British version of “Da Ali G Show” that the man from Kazakhstan showed his true colors. He was now a genial bigot with a raging libido (one of several aspects that some claim Baron Cohen appropriated from Mahir Cagri, an early Internet cult star). Borat was able to express horrible sentiments with childlike earnestness -- best summed up by his Barney the Dinosaur-like refrain, “I like you. Do you like me?” The juxtaposition made him supremely quotable; not even four seasons of “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” produced so many inescapable catchphrases.

Although Bruno remains a very funny, well-crafted creation, it’s hard to imagine him finding the same success as “Borat.” In his eulogy for Ali G and Borat, Baron Cohen admitted that international stardom has made it difficult to fool people. And Bruno may be a hair too smart to have the same blunted impact as his schizoid brethren, who were aggressive, unsubtle and great in short bursts -- ideal comedy for the Internet era. To memorialize these dimwit icons, here are 10 great moments that made viewers shout “Booyakasha” and “Jagshemash” . . . or call their attorneys. Respect.

10. Andy Rooney Interview (“Da Ali G Show,” Season 2). Someone finally has the guts to toss Ali G out the door. Who else would it be other than “60 Minutes’ ” elderly curmudgeon? You can almost hear Rooney’s blood pressure spike when Ali G asks, “Is it because I’s black?”

Very Nice Quote: “Has journalists ever put out tomorrow’s news by mistake?”

9. Borat’s Sister (“Da Ali G Show,” Season 1). Borat attends a wine-tasting with a pair of older gentlemen. After one too many, he produces a stack of Polaroids of his “beauty queen” sister (“She wants to move to U, S and A”). The jaw-dropping payoff is unforgettable.

Very Nice Quote: “We make a joke! We pretend to be husband and wife!”

8. United Nations (“Da Ali G Show,” Season 1). Ali G tours “the United Nations of Benetton,” with representatives from “the three corners of the world.” The highlight is a chat with former Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who seems genuinely amused by such questions as, “Is Disneyland a member of the U.N.?”

Very Nice Quote: “Big-up yaself, Boutros Boutros Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Respect.”

7. Kazakhstan vs. Borat. Borat’s greatest piece of living theater took place off-camera. Representatives of the actual Kazakhstan battled him in the media (Borat responded with a press release of randomly-arranged Cyrillic letters); on the Internet (the suspension of his website, www.borat.kzi) and even at the White House (Borat arrived at the gates one day before an official visit by Kazakh President Nursultan A. Nazarbayev).

Very Nice Quote: “[Kazakh] women can now travel on inside of bus.”

6. Noam Chomsky Interview (“Da Ali G Show,” Season 2). Baron Cohen clearly loves playing with the English language. To see Ali G share a mangled discussion with the famed linguistics professor and political activist is surreal, hilarious -- and so Chomsky-esque.

Very Nice Quote: “Me know loads of words: Parachute, photograph, spaghetti . . . “

5. Dropping Science (“Da Ali G Show,” Season 1). This panel segment of “Da Ali G Show” brings together doctors, a futurologist and a creationist to discuss “techmology” (“Is it good, or is it wack?”). It all ends with the creationist struggling to defend his bathroom habits. A perfect example of the way Baron Cohen mocks the dumbing down of our culture -- by dumbing down our culture.

Very Nice Quote: “So you’s saying we ain’t come down from monkeys. Has you ever eaten a banana?”

4. Naked Wrestling Match (“Borat: Cultural Learnings . . .”) Borat and his “producer,” Azamat (Ken Davitian), engage in a full-frontal brawl over their mutual love of a Pamela Anderson bikini photo. Later, Borat will claim he can still taste Azamat on his mustache. P.S. “Borat’s” screenplay got an Oscar nomination.

Very Nice Quote: “How dare you make hand-party over Pamela!”

3. Pat Buchanan Interview (“Da Ali G Show,” Season 2). No other exchange better displays Baron Cohen’s gift for leading his victims into Abbott and Costello-style lunacy. Ali G wants to know if Saddam Hussein does indeed possess weapons of mass destruction, “ . . . or, as they is called, BLTs.” It’s hard to tell if Buchanan’s just playing along, or if he truly is concerned about what Ali G calls “a war over sandwiches” -- with or without mustard gas.

Very Nice Quote: “So how long was you president for?”

2. In My Country, There is Problem (“Da Ali G Show,” Season 2). In front of an audience of Tucson locals, Borat and His Cowboy Astoni-Band perform an original composition. The lyrics are viciously anti- Semitic. But what comes off more offensive is the crowd’s enthusiastic response, singing along with glee. A dark, amoral bit that’s as disturbing as it is funny.

Very Nice Quote: Too hurtful to be repeated here.

1. The Star-Spangled Banner (“Borat: Cultural Learnings . . .”). Borat hogties a sacred cow. In January 2005, Baron Cohen made headlines when he attended a rodeo in Salem, Va., and butchered the “Banner.” The result was the tuneless debut of Kazakhstan’s national anthem (“All other countries are run by little girls”), and the “Borat” movie’s definitive set piece.

Very Nice Quote: “May you destroy their country so that for the next thousand years, not even a single lizard will survive in their desert!”