“The Dictator” Aims to Please – or Displease, Whichever is Easier

R for intense accents, bushy facial hair, some mild oppression

Release Date: May 18, 2012

 

Having already incurred the litigious wrath of Kazakhstan, Romania, Southern frat boys, and the elderly – and, probably, grown too famous for his old shtick to work anyway – Sacha Baron-Cohen here abandons the mockumentary style of his TV series and first two films.

Instead, he plays a fictional dictator from a fictional country, costarring not with hapless civilians but with actual actors following – get this! – a script. It’s almost as if Baron-Cohen is trying not to get sued. Has he lost his edge?

Well, if you ask Ryan Seacrest, no.