The Men Who Stare at Goats is a different kind of Comedy. It has more of a subtle humor, with some of the normal in your face stuff that most modern comedies have. A lot of people aren’t fans of subtle humor due to the fact that they don’t catch it all the time, so if you don’t catch, or get a joke, it’s not funny. Well I’m a big fan of that kind of humor. It ranks up there with Stranger than Fiction, another comedy with subtle humor. Still not quite as good as it, but close.

The cast was great for this kind of film. In fact I don’t think it would have been as good without the ensemble cast it has. You can’t go wrong with George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, and Ewan McGregor. Each character they all played brings all the more fun to the movie.

Over all I give The Men Who Stare at Goats a 7 out of 10. I suggest if you enjoy movies like Stranger Than Fiction, then you’ll enjoy this film.

This movie is the story of a newspaper reporter (Ewan McGregor) who stumbles into a story about something called Project Jedi. At first he dismisses it, but after he discovers that his wife is involved with his editor he decides to go to Kuwait to report on the war in Iraq.  While becalmed at a hotel he runs into one of the Jedi (George Clooney).  Through a process of introduction better left to the film, the two of them end up on the road to an unknown destination deep within Iraq.  On their journey they encounter kidnappers, terrorists, fellow travelers and goats.  They are involved in firefights and scientific experiments on their way to their destination.  What they find at this destination is best left for the readers to decide for themselves. 

I was shocked to find how much I enjoyed this movie.  I’m not a huge fan of George Clooney, but he is amazingly good as the Jedi Warrior Lyn.  Jeff Bridges is, as always, fantastic and you can’t go wrong with weird by casting Kevin Spacey.  But, the man who steals the show is Ewan McGregor.  He is funny, frustrated, confused and determined to understand all at the same time through most of the movie and we are right there with him.  The acting is exceptional and the directing well done in the main.

On the downside, this movie is unlikely to stand the test of time as well as it should due mostly to all the inside jokes about the Jedi.  It plays funny now because it isn’t difficult to picture Ewan McGregor as Obi Won.  In many ways this movie is a send up of the Star Wars pictures and of the Star Wars expenditures by the United States government in the 1980’s. 

This is a very good film that I would strongly recommend.  It’s rated R for language, nudity and violence, but it’s a great date movie for the 18 year old crowd as well as adults.  The humor isn’t as edgy and dark as some would like it, but that makes the movie better.  We all take ourselves so seriously these days and this movie does a magnificent job of sending us all laughing at ourselves, our government and our lives.  It’s a good film.  I would watch it again.  Thanks and happy watching!!!        

Kill the Umpire lobby cards image courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries

Director Lloyd Bacon and Columbia Pictures delivered the hilarious Kill the Umpire to movie theaters in 1950. William Bendix plays the rookie umpire, with Una Merkel, Ray Collins and Gloria Henry in support. Play ball!

Lloyd Bacon Directs Kill the Umpire

Frank Tashlin wrote Kill the Umpire for Columbia Pictures. Lloyd Bacon (Footlight Parade, The Oklahoma Kid, It Happens Every Spring) directed. Heinz Roemheld created the playful music score and Charles Lawton Jr. served as cinematographer.

William Bendix heads the cast as Bill “Two Call” Johnson. Other players include Una Merkel (Betty Johnson), Ray Collins (Jonah Evans), Gloria Henry (Lucy Johnson), Jeff Richards (Bob Landon), Connie Marshall (Suzie Johnson), William Frawley (Jimmy O’Brien), Tom D’Andrea (Roscoe Snooker), Luther Crockett (Sam Austin), Jeff York (Panhandle Jones), Glenn Thompson (Lanky), Bob Wilke (Cactus), Jim Bannon (Dusty), Ralph Dunn (Electrician), Billy Gray (Boy Catcher), Alan Hale Jr. (Harry Shay), Harry Hayden (Hotel Manager), Tommy Ivo (Boy Second Baseman) and Larry McGrath (Rogers).

Kill the Umpire Filmed at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles

Much of Kill the Umpire was filmed at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. Located at 42nd Place and Avalon Boulevard, L.A.’s Wrigley Field – not to be confused with the more famous one in Chicago – served primarily as the home of the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League from 1925 to 1957. A number of other baseball films were shot here as well, including Babe Comes Home (1927), Pride of the Yankees (1942), The Winning Team (1952) and The Kid from Left Field (1953).

L.A.’s Wrigley Field, named for the chewing gum magnate William K. Wrigley Jr., had officially opened on September 29, 1925. It later served as the home of the expansion Los Angeles Angels of the American League for one season only (1961). Demolished in 1969, L.A.’s Wrigley Field is now the site of a playground.

William Bendix Plays Baseball Umpire

Kill the Umpire follows the triumphs and tragedies of Bill Johnson, an ex-ballplayer and rabid fan who harbors an abiding hate for the boys in blue. Residing in St. Petersburg, Florida, Bill invariably loses his job every year when spring training rolls around. Threatened with a walkout from his wife, Bill reluctantly signs up for umpire school with the help of his father-in-law, Jonah Evans, a retired professional ump.

At his new educational digs in Florida, Bill tries his best to get tossed out of school. But Jimmy O’Brien, the venerable director of the institution, finally convinces Bill that he would make a darned good umpire.

A reinvigorated Bill successfully completes the curriculum and is assigned to the Texas Interstate League. In time, he gains a measure of popularity, earning the nickname “Two Call Johnson” after indulging in a fellow ump’s eye drop medicine, resulting in temporary double vision.

Following a controversial call against the home team, a huge rhubarb ensues with Bill barely escaping the ballpark as angry fans follow in pursuit. Donning various disguises, Bill manages to sneak back into the stadium just in time to work the big game.

Kill the Umpire Opens in New York City

Kill the Umpire came to New York City’s Rivoli Theater on May 27, 1950.

“Since the weather is fast becoming balmy, let’s blame it for such visitations as Kill the Umpire. For this decidedly seasonal farce…is, unlike the men in blue it lampoons and lauds, not to be taken seriously on any score,” reported A.H. Weiler of The New York Times (5/29/50).

“Lame-brained comedy about a fanatic baseball fan (William Bendix) who hates umpires but becomes one when he needs a job…For undemanding fans,” observed the uncharitable critic for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Kill the Umpire Trivia, DVD

• Kill the Umpire acquired its title from the classic Ernest Lawrence Thayer poem, “Casey at the Bat,” which first appeared in the San Francisco Examiner on June 3, 1888. One stanza reads in part: “‘Kill him! Kill the umpire!’ shouted someone in the stands, And it’s likely they’d have killed him had not Casey raised his hand.”
• Willam Bendix (1906-1964) is perhaps best known for his other baseball role, that of George Herman “Babe” Ruth in The Babe Ruth Story (1948).
• William Frawley (1887-1966), who played Fred Mertz on TV’s I Love Lucy (1951-57), actually had a clause in his contract allowing him to take time off from work to attend the World Series if his beloved New York Yankees were playing.
• On DVD: Baseball Double Feature – Kill the Umpire/Safe at Home (Sony, 2007).

“Just call ‘em like you see ‘em!” a young, freckled-faced Tony Taylor tells William Bendix during a kids’ sandlot game. 

That could be difficult, especially for an umpire saddled with the moniker “Two Call Johnson”…

Mister Roberts lobby card set image courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries

Thomas O. Heggen’s Mister Roberts first sailed into movie theaters in 1955. Henry Fonda has the title role, with Jack Lemmon, James Cagney, William Powell and Ward Bond as his shipmates.

Thomas O. Heggen’s Mister Roberts

Mister Roberts is based on the 1946 best-selling novel of the same name by Thomas O. Heggen (1919-1949). A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, Heggen’s experiences as a young communications officer aboard the USS Virgo in the South Pacific served as the basis for his novel.

On May 19, 1949, the 29-year-old Heggen was found drowned in the bathtub of his New York City apartment. An apparent victim of a barbiturate overdose, Heggen’s death was ruled a probable suicide.

Mister Roberts on Broadway

Mister Roberts made its Broadway premiere at the Alvin Theater on February 18, 1948, with Henry Fonda in the title role. Directed by Joshua Logan, Mister Roberts was a huge success, registering 1,157 performances on the Great White Way.

In August 1953, Broadway producer Leland Hayward sold the movie rights for Mister Roberts to Warner Bros. Hayward included two stipulations: that he produce the motion picture version and that Henry Fonda reprise his role from Broadway.

Director John Ford and Mister Roberts

Joshua Logan and Frank S. Nugent penned the Mister Roberts screenplay. Tapped to direct the movie was John Ford, whose services were not immediately available as he had just committed himself to The Long Gray Line (1955) starring Tyrone Power. Franz Waxman created the original music score.

Mister Roberts Cast

Henry Fonda heads the cast as Lt. (junior grade) Doug Roberts. Other players include James Cagney (Captain Morton), William Powell (Doc), Jack Lemmon (Ensign Frank Thurlowe Pulver), Betsy Palmer (Lt. Ann Girard), Ward Bond (Chief Petty Officer Dowdy), Phil Carey (Mannion), Nick Adams (Reber), Perry Lopez (Rodrigues), Ken Curtis (Dolan), Robert Roark (Insigna), Harry Carey Jr. (Stefanowski), Pat Wayne (Bookser), Frank Aletter (Gerhart) and Tige Andrews (Wiley).

Studio chief Jack Warner had wanted to oust Henry Fonda at the last minute, replacing him with either Marlon Brando or William Holden. John Ford, however, lobbied in favor of Fonda, telling Warner, “If he (Fonda) doesn’t do this picture, then I don’t do it either.”

Mister Roberts Filmed in Hawaii and Midway Island

Mister Roberts was shot on location in Hawaii and Midway Island. The Araner, John Ford’s beloved yacht, served as the director’s personal living quarters during filming.

When John Ford and Henry Fonda had a disagreement on how the production was going, the hard-drinking Ford rose from his chair and delivered a haymaker to his star’s jaw. “It knocked me over backwards, and I crashed into some furniture…I was more embarrassed than hurt,” Fonda later recalled.

Ford was subsequently replaced on the production after he underwent emergency surgery for a ruptured gall bladder. Mervyn LeRoy stepped in as director, with uncredited assistance from Joshua Logan.

Mister Roberts: World War II Service Comedy

Mister Roberts is set aboard the USS Reluctant – a.k.a. “The Bucket” – a U.S. Navy cargo ship operating in the back waters of the Pacific in April/May 1945. The ship’s executive officer, Lt. (j.g.) Douglas A. Roberts, is itching to get into the real action, but his transfer requests are repeatedly denied by the tyrannical Captain Morton, an old Merchant Marine salt who despises college boy officers.

The Reluctant’s 62 crew members experience their own slice of the Pacific war. They include a fortuitous meeting with a group of Navy nurses, a wild liberty call in the Limbo Islands and Ensign Pulver’s near mutiny against Captain Morton and his beloved palm tree.

Mister Roberts eventually secures his transfer to a combat unit, where he sees action aboard the destroyer Livingston during the Battle of Okinawa. A buddy named Farnell later informs Pulver of Mister Roberts’ fate via a letter: Roberts was killed by a Japanese kamikaze pilot while drinking coffee in the wardroom.

Mister Roberts Opens in New York City

Mister Roberts opened at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on July 14, 1955.

“Now hear this! Another 21-gun salute is hereby accorded Mister Roberts and the raffish, rough and lovable World War II gobs who landed at the Music Hall yesterday…To Mister Roberts and all hands involved in one of the season’s greatest pleasures: Well done!” reported A.H. Weiler of The New York Times (7/15/55).

Mister Roberts Box Office, Academy Awards, Sequels, DVD

• Mister Roberts grossed $8.5 million at the box office, good for the #3 position on the list of the top moneymaking films of 1955.
• Mister Roberts earned three Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Lemmon, won), Best Sound (William A. Mueller).
• Mister Roberts spawned one sequel, Ensign Pulver (1964), starring Robert Walker Jr.; a television series, Mister Roberts (NBC, 1965-66), starring Roger Smith; and a made-for-TV movie remake, Mister Roberts (1984), with Robert Hays in the title role.
•  1955’s Mister Roberts is available on DVD (Warner, 2006).

“Captain, it is I, Ensign Pulver, and I just threw your stinkin’ palm tree overboard! Now what’s all this crud about no movie tonight?” Jack Lemmon announces at the end of the picture.

Tonight, make your movie Mister Roberts…

Lobby card set image courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries

Director Vincente Minnelli and MGM delivered The Long, Long Trailer to movie theaters in 1953. I Love Lucy stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz play newlyweds, with Marjorie Main, Keenan Wynn and Gladys Hurlbut also along for the hilarious ride.

Clinton Twiss’ The Long, Long Trailer Book

The Long, Long Trailer is based on the 1951 travelogue book of the same name by Clinton Twiss. In the late 1940s, Clinton and Merle Twiss sold most of their possessions and hit the road for a year, traveling the United States and Canada with their long, long trailer in tow.

Vincente Minnelli Directs The Long, Long Trailer

Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich wrote the screenplay for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. Vincente Minnelli (Meet Me in St. Louis, An American in Paris) directed. Adolph Deutsch created the original music score, with the carefree “Breezin’ Along With the Breeze” serving as the movie’s title song.

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Head Cast

Lucille Ball (Tacy Bolton Collini) and Desi Arnaz (Nicholas “Nicky” Collini) head the cast. Other players include Marjorie Main (Mrs. Hittaway), Keenan Wynn (Policeman), Gladys Hurlbut (Mrs. Bolton), Moroni Olsen (Mr. Tewitt), Bert Freed (Foreman), Madge Blake (Aunt Anastacia), Walter Baldwin (Uncle Edgar), Oliver Blake (Mr. Ludlow), Perry Sheehan (Bridesmaid), John Call (Shorty), Karl Lukas (Inspector), Howard McNear (Joe Hittaway) and Charles Herbert (Little Boy).

Filmed in California

The Long, Long Trailer was filmed in California at Yosemite National Park, Red Rock Canyon State Park, Lone Pine and Palos Verdes Estates.

The movie’s principal prop was a 1953 New Moon trailer made the Redman Trailer Company of Alma, Michigan. Also used was a 1953 Mercury Monterey convertible and a 1953 Lincoln Capri convertible, both of which housed powerful V8 engines with adequate trailer-pulling capabilities.

The Long, Long Trailer Movie

Civil engineer Nicky Collini and fiancee Tacy Bolton plan to wed. Tacy insists that their new home be a New Moon trailer, which carries a price tag of over $5,000. Despite Nicky’s reluctance, the couple buy their dream home on wheels and depart for the Sierra Nevada Mountains for their honeymoon.

The trailer trip proves to be a series of misadventures. Cooking in the New Moon is almost impossible, and the trek through the steep, winding mountains turns out to be anything but pleasurable.

The trailer places enormous strains on the newlyweds, eventually driving them apart. But love conquers all, with Nicky and Tacy reunited by movie’s end.

Release, Reviews

The Long, Long Trailer opened in New York City on December 31, 1953.

“A light comedy with a number of slapstick gags, this film works thanks to the stars’ chemistry and Ball’s timing,” reports TV Guide.

Film Analysis: I Love Lucy on Wheels

By 1953, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were the hottest thing on television thanks to I Love Lucy, TV’s highest-rate show at the time. In order to further capitalize on that popularity, real-life husband and wife Desi and Lucy boarded The Long, Long Trailer, a movie sitcom based on wheels.

Desi Arnaz, a gambler with both his money and his ideas, thought The Long, Long Trailer would go over well. MGM executives weren’t so sure, citing the fact that audiences could watch Lucy and Desi for free on television. Desi then made a wager with the studio, betting $25,000 that The Long, Long Trailer would gross more at the box office than Father of the Bride (1950), the then current champion in the comedy film genre. Desi won the bet.

I Love Lucy fans will treasure this movie, as “Ricky” becomes “Nicky” and “Lucy” becomes “Tacy.” Both television stars look good up on the big screen, with Marjorie Main and Keenan Wynn lending excellent comic support. Add to that some stunning scenery of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and The Long, Long Trailer becomes a charming travelogue/romantic comedy.

The Long, Long Trailer DVD, Movie Memorabilia

• The Long, Long Trailer is available on DVD (Warner, 2006).
• Auction results for original movie memorabilia from The Long, Long Trailer, courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries, Dallas, Texas: one sheet poster ($276), three sheet poster ($262.90), set of eight lobby cards ($239).

“You didn’t let me finish. I was going to say ‘turn right here left,’” Tacy tells a confused Nicky.

Sounds like Tacy has some “splainin’” to do…

A couple of weeks ago, calling in at our local, the Dirty Duck, Hilary and I were unable to sit at our usual table in the Actors Bar. This is nothing unusual between 6.30 and 7pm, with crowds of theatre goers cramming the place before that evening’s RSC show gets under way. But after 7.15 – when we usually drop in – the place is invariably less busy. Not this time. The old pub was full to bursting, plus there were strange cables snaking all over the floors, and people shouting “quiet please”; even the barman (who we’d never seen before) ignored us. Then we spotted the camera, and the clapper boy, and the inevitable furry microphone, and a very busy woman who was obviously the director. Someone was making a film.

And as we found out later – thanks to Owen Jennings, a charming member of the production team – that someone was Quercus Productions, who’d come up with the idea of making a film about a young doctor, Crispin Shakespeare, who finds a cache of original documents in the cellar of his home in Stratford; documents that seem to have been written by William Shakespeare – a sharp intake of breath and the sound of a big cheque being written.

Young Crispin is also in love with a beautiful RSC actress ( there could be trouble ahead there then); oh, and he’s also badly in debt, and, when not working in his doctor uncle’s surgery – which isn’t often I should think -  he’s writing a spoof Shakespearean play he hopes to see performed at the Edinburgh Festival. Busy lad.

The film, naturally enough, is a comedy along the lines of “Four Weddings and a Funeral”, and is set in 1997, with the somewhat harassed Crispin Shakespeare played by an up-and-coming (and extremely handsome) young actor by the name of Craig Henderson, who graciously took some time off to have a chat with us. And believe me he has the good looks and acting ability to become a pretty big star. We’re huge fans already.

Craig is supported by the beautiful Viktoria Hedberg and Eugenia Yuan. I’m not sure which one is playing the RSC actress, but there’d be a queue to see either of them perform in Stratford.

On a technical point, the film is being shot by the so called Red One camera, which is effectively a digital movie camera, but one that still creates the look of a regular 35m camera.

The company have already filmed quite a lot of stuff in and around Stratford, including some scenes inside Holy Trinity Church. They are currently filming in London.

Oh, and we did get to sit at our usual table in the end when Owen asked us to become extras. The trouble is, for the best part of an hour, and in the interests of continuity,we couldn’t actually drink anything.

The film – Will’s Diaries – should be released in December 2010.

Check out their website.

Abbott and company rivaled Bing Crosby and his side kick on their road trips and I believe one comic scenario must have been influenced by the other especially when there was a foreign adventure in the planning. The comedy team of Abbot and Costello made you laugh just as you would have with Bob Hope; one actor was totally serious and the other a comical bag of tricks and one line jokes.

When Africa screamed, the comic pair did their best to get involves in an exotic treasure hunt. Little did they know that they would be dead meat for the gangsters that wanted a map that only Abbott knew. Sometimes he would be lucid about it but the comical tension grew as the pair took their time in producing the guide. In the meantime they headed further into the jungle, and there was always a feeble attempt at escape and a sense of helplessness that added a serious touch to an otherwise ridiculous venue. How could they have gone on a trip where they had no real clue to getting any treasure? Otherwise why would Costello have drawn a map of his store’s location instead of the African hinterland?

But it was all part of the comedy and we all knew how the shorter comic was always reinterpreted things in his own way challenging the more pragmatical approach of his peer. He was the scapegoat too when it came to finding blame much as Bob Hope became the cause of an impending disaster on the “Road to Morocco,” or Laurel from Laurel and Hardy knew that he would be punished by his more austere counterpart when he erred in his judgement.

For me, it’s like making fun of someone’s hard work! And it’s uncreative. Must be a stupid director too; can’t get his own ideas. Why should they call it a movie? It’s just copying another! I know you need like permission from that movie before making a parody of it, but still parodies are for idiots!

Okay example, March of the penguins, a great documentary about penguins’ life in the Antarctic, then comes along the parody, Farce of the Penguins. Instead it has penguins cursing at each other and making fun of the penguins’ mating season. They make it sound so sexual and idiotic.  It makes fun of the actual movie, and I’m sure, it won’t make as much money as the original movie.

I really don’t know why people create parodies of real movies, but it’s a real waste of time to watch. You can instead watch something more original by watching another comedy movie, or watching the actual movie itself.

Mainly, it takes the good elements of the actual movie, and attracting interest to the parody, than the actual movie. Mostly parodies have lots of sexual element and cursing themes; very bad for children, and as I said are for idiots. I’m not saying that parodies should be banned or anything, I’m just trying to state that people shouldn’t watch parodies, instead watch the original one, which makes parodies more unpopular, which means no more parodies!  

I used to enjoy it though for fun with friends, but as I start to think, I don’t really like it.

Thank You for reading!

Perhaps because this film is from the same writer and director who brought us Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin, and it involves the likes of Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jason Schwartzmann, Leslie Mann and Adam Sandler, we just presumed it would be funny. And there are laugh-out-loud hilarious moments. But you’re likely to leave the movie going ‘That was just a not-really-funny-somewhat-poignant drama, wasn’t it?’

The film focuses on Sandler, who plays a successful Hollywood comedian. He’s done a range of comedy films throughout his career that elicit cheap laughs from fans (reminds us quite a lot of Sandler’s own Don’t Mess With The Zohan…), and he’s been successful enough to get anything he wants in life now. At the beginning of the film, he discovers he has a life-threatening disease and, not knowing how to handle his life now, goes back to his grassroots of comedy by doing stand-up. He hires a nervous stand-up rookie, Ira Wright, played by Rogen, to write jokes for him and be his assistant as he deals with this disease. From here on out, the line between assistant and friend gets blurred for the two main characters as they both try to help each other out in life, and both refuse to accept the other’s help.

There are some classic moments in the film, particularly watching Sandler’s and Rogen’s characters do stand-up, and watching all the guest-star cameos throughout, including an excellent exchange between Ray Romano and Eminem, and some quality comedy from James Taylor. And Leslie Mann doing a really awful impression of a Eric Bana’s Aussie accent.

We also get to see a more emotional side of Rogen, which hasn’t come through in his past movies before. Even if he is still talking about penises and farting throughout most of Funny People, he manages to give his character some much-needed vulnerability here.

Classic Paul-Rudd-Jason-Segel-Judd-Apatow style comedy is so hard to pull off that maybe this team of elite comedy actors should stick to doing what we love them for – making us laugh, and leave the dramatic, emotional stuff to the lamer people in life. Alas, Funny People is not a must-see.

Image via Wikipedia

But how does it compare with his previous efforts? Well, the shock-value is still there, in fact the opening twenty minutes or so are more concerned with gross-out humour and knob-gags than showing up interviewees., and a scene in which Bruno showcases his own tacky celebrity chat show is suitably awful. Sadly, this opening eats into his time interviewing although some of the reactions of others are appalling, one pushy mum who will do anything to allow her baby to go into modelling is unbelievable while some of the reactions of various staunch anti-gays are downright frightening. In short it’s good, it’s funny, but it hasn’t got the same punch that Borat had. Unlike the Borat and Ali G movies, the plot, although better defined, is a little clunky. Bruno wants to be a big star having lost his job as a fashion reporter, but in order for the mockumentary style to work he needs a reason to be being filmed and that just isn’t there. Borat had the premise that he was recording a show for Kazakhstan, Bruno has a vague notion of celebrity but little else.

Another problem is that lingering sense over most of Baron Cohen’s comedy work; the worry that some viewers might not get the joke, and this is a concern that has already had spokespersons from GLAAD (the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) worrying. Sure to most of us Bruno’s over-the-top camp, running around in ridiculous costumes wielding dildos and fetish gear, is a brilliant satire on stereotypes, but to some it could be a reinforcement of those stereotypes. And seeing the way Baron Cohen is treated in some scenes of the film, that can’t be a good film.

Still, for those in on the joke and with a strong stomach for shock, it’s a highly amusing way to spend a couple of hours. Baron Cohen’s acting and improvisation skills and seemingly limitless nerve are, as always, astonishing. Once again, this is real “I can’t believe he did that!” viewing.