The Nose recently was walking up the aisle of the Charles Theatre, trying our mightiest to blot out the fresh image of Borat’s face buried deep in his producer’s ample, splayed ass, when we saw an apt critique of the 84-minute gag fest. It was Maryland’s retiring U.S. senator, Paul Sarbanes, his left hand covering the side of his face apparently to avoid being recognized by exiting theatergoers. He looked as if he’d been caught watching Deep Throat at the Apex Theatre. Without Sarbanes’ hand-in-the-cookie-jar posture, we never would’ve caught the whiff of a story.
We wanted to ask Sarbanes what he thought of Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, and waited for a short while in the lobby to greet him as he exited, but our patience wore out before he emerged. We placed a call to his office, seeking the senator’s thoughts about the movie, but never heard back. ’Nuff said, we suppose, since Sarbanes’ body language sufficed: The senator apparently was embarrassed even to be seen watching the blockbuster--an accomplishment, of sorts, in a culture largely inured to shocking entertainment.
Note to the retiring four-term senator: Next time, wait for the DVD release, thereby avoiding the public indignity of being seen at a screening of an offensive movie. And congrats to Borat creators Sacha Baron Cohen and Larry Charles for putting out something that made even a U.S. senator shy.
