The Dictator is a bit of a departure for Sacha Baron Cohen. In previous movies in which he’s played the lead (Ali G, Borat, Bruno), Baron Cohen has interacted with members of the public who were completely unaware that he was playing a character. He still plays a larger-than-life character here, but this time, the film he inhabits is completely fictional. Does this change in comedic style work as well as his previous efforts? Read on to find out.

Sacha Baron Cohen stars as Admiral General Aladeen, the supreme leader of the fictional Republic of Wadiya. Ben Kingsley plays an advisor who was passed over for leadership some years prior, and he puts a plot in motion to get Aladeen out of the way. (Of course he does. He’s Ben Kingsley. See: Persia, Prince of.) See, there’s oil in Wadiya that Aladeen refuses to sell to outside nations, but Kingsley’s character is wheeling and dealing behind the scenes and stands to make billions in commission if he can start selling it to other countries. During a trip to New York City, Aladeen is supposed to speak in front of the United Nations, but he’s replaced with a body double and left for dead outside the city, setting up the major conflict of the film: can the real Aladeen, now unrecognizable without his iconic beard, make it to the UN in time to stop a new Wadiyan constitution from being signed?

With all of that out of the way, let’s return to the question posed at the beginning of this review. Does a completely fictional narrative work as well as Baron Cohen’s previous efforts? Not quite. In satire, which The Dictator most certainly is, I’ve always found interactions with real people over the course of a film to paint a broader picture of the general population’s consensus, therefore turning the looking glass back on ourselves and allowing us to examine our culture’s ignorance, apathy, prejudices, or whatever the issue may be. It may not be completely representative of the entire nation’s opinions, but at least there are real people that you can point to as concrete examples and say, “look, these people actually believe what they’re saying.”

In a fictional narrative, that element is gone in favor of actors speaking pre-written dialogue, and there’s just something about that method that takes the bite off the criticisms Baron Cohen tries to make. At the end of The Dictator, Admiral General Aladeen gives a long speech which, in so many words, condemns the leadership of the United States as a type of dictatorship. It works, and it’s even sadly funny, but I think watching real people’s behavior is a much more subtle way to critique society’s impulses rather than going with a pre-planned speech.

Putting its stylistic choices aside, I think The Dictator has a few great moments of comedic brilliance in it. With Borat, I was put off by the cultural phenomenon it became in the weeks and months after its release, but returning to that movie years later, I found it hilarious. I’m guessing something similar will happen here, but in the meantime, Baron Cohen knows his audience and knows how to play up his strengths. His blustery buffoon character is at his best when he’s completely out of his element, and Baron Cohen knows how to walk the line between gross-out humor (which there is a bit of here, but not as much as previous films) and one-liners. He’s also got a solid supporting cast this time around, including John C. Reilly as a racist American officer, UCB co-founder Ian Roberts as a police officer, Anna Faris as the Brooklyn-based hippie love interest, and even Megan Fox playing herself in a cameo appearance.

But this movie is really a coming out party for Jason Mantzoukas, who you may recognize as Rafi from the FX series “The League” or from a bit part on “Parks and Recreation.” He plays Wadiya’s former head of nuclear science who now lives in New York City’s Little Wadiya, and he helps Aladeen with his plan to reclaim his position as supreme leader. Mantzoukas’ comic timing is spot-on, and he is responsible for some of the film’s funniest moments. He essentially plays the straight man to Aladeen’s wild man, and watching him get flustered at Baron Cohen’s stupidity was a personal highlight of this movie. There’s a great series of gags that play out in Little Wadiya that I won’t ruin, but they all involve flashbacks of Aladeen having members of his country assassinated. You’ll know it when you see it.

Is The Dictator Sacha Baron Cohen’s best film? It’s tough to say, especially with comedies. Though the lack of unsuspecting real people might not be as funny as the alternative, perhaps this is a step in the right direction for the auteur. It shows that he’s willing to step outside of his comfort zone a little, and I think watching him grow as a comedian may be more important than watching him play the same games in his self-constructed sandbox over and over again. Until next time…

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Bruno may not have been as successful as Borat, but that didn’t stop Paramount giving Sacha Baron Cohen the chance to make another movie with another one of his weird and wonderful characters. The Dictator is currently filming and won’t be released until May 2012, but the studio has today released our first official look at Cohen in character.

Here’s the full look:

In the film Sacha Baron Cohen plays a ruthless dictator who heads to the U.S. for a meeting at the United Nations and finds that his number two has replaced him with an unsuspecting sheepherder lookalike. As the dictator wanders the city, he meets the owner of an organic food store. She turns around his dictatorial thinking, and there’s a little romance in it as well.

Cohen has re-teamed with Borat and Bruno director Larry Charles, and will be joined on-screen by Sir Ben Kingsley, Jason Mantzoukas, and Anna Faris.

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Did my eyes deceive me? A comedy about getting the girl, set in the ‘80s, and no John Cusack in sight? Is Hollywood evolving in some respects? After watching the 92 minute feature Take Me Home Tonight, the answer is a mild yes.

The overall storyline is pretty standard and all the staple characters – spoiled rich guy, the likeable loser/dreamer, the “it” girl, etc. – found in all these types of period comedies are still involved. What ends up separating the plethora of these coming-of-age flicks, is whether the script will focus on the characters or dwell on the nostalgia and behavior of the time period. In this story’s case, the ’80s gimmick.

MIT graduate Matt Franklin (Topher Grace) is as smart as they come in his field of engineering. He’s almost “Rain Man” smart. For whatever reason, he chooses not to get a job using his expertise and decides to work at a video store in a Los Angeles mall. His father (Michael Biehn) is baffled by Matt’s lack of direction and continues to put the pressure on him to do something with his life. Matt is 22 and subscribes to the philosophy of not committing to something unless he is sure about. The only one who seems to support him is his twin sister Wendy (Anna Faris). Also, his longtime best friend Barry (Dan Fogler) backs his every move. Frankly though, Barry can’t really comment on Matt’s life, since he bypassed college to become a car salesman. And not a real good one at that.

Matt begins to see classmates from his 1984 high school class while working his video store gig. Including his high school crush that he never talked to in Tori Frederking (Teresa Palmer). All of a sudden, Matt’s life has a purpose. He believes he has a second chance to get the girl of his dreams. However, he realizes that his current stature in the world may be a turn-off. So he invents a new one. After spinning lies about a big financial career, he follows Tori to a party that all of his former classmates will be attending. Hosted by Sherman High School’s most popular student, the popped-collar wearing Kyle Masterson (Chris Pratt). Matt, Wendy and a ready to rock Barry, invade the party – each with their own agenda – and find themselves taking part in Motley Crue-like back stage shenanigans.

By reading the above plot summary, one might think that Matt will have to match wits with the popular Kyle Masterson in order to get Tori’s attention. And there has to an under-the-radar type girl who has always been by his side. Well, that’s not the case, and by side-stepping a few other similar clichés, is the reason why this particular ’80s coming-of-age concept flick evolved just enough. There is no climatic showdown between two people. It is basically Matt fighting against himself. This plot point becomes more substantial as the story opens up and will draw the audience in. Personally, this was a pleasant surprise, for the opening 15-20 minutes suggested that this could be going nowhere fast. Taking away some of the usual type-cast behavior of the characters adds a welcomed depth to the story. Or at least something different. Which is a relief because the comedic elements are not consistently strong enough to keep one entertained the entire duration.

With that being said, this is one of those flicks that benefit greatly from multiple viewings. The comedy will resonate more by a third viewing I believe. Certain scenes and/or characters are delivered in such an awkward way – which is done purposely – that the audience is caught off-guard. For instance, the dialogue interaction between Matt and the wheel-chair guy is meant to be funny, but it just isn’t the first time through. Reason being, the tweaking of how all the characters interact with each other deviates from the norm commonly found in these particular flicks. I guarantee that by the 2^nd or 3^rd viewing, that particular scene will derive a good chuckle.

As far as performances go, everyone was serviceable and did their part. Topher Grace has never been the most charismatic guy on screen. Though his career was born from a sitcom, he just isn’t that funny and really needs to be put in the right situations via the script. He does work well with the people around him though. Dan Fogler seems to channel a little Sam Kinison in his performance in both looks and vocal delivery. It might not be a bad idea to give his character “Barry Nathan” his own movie. One will wish that the writers loosened the noose just a bit more on Fogler’s character, for the results would have enhanced the entertainment value. If they did decide to go that route though, the story would have lost its balance and tone. That’s a tough trade-off to debate.

Anna Faris is just there and seems to be content in that role lately. The rest of the cast is just used to give the audience a break from the main plot of Matt and Tori, which ends up opening the door and letting in a handful of funny skits involving sex, drugs and, uh…Sex and drugs.

Overall, Take Me Home Tonight needs to be seen because its replay value down the road will be worth it. It really is one of those flicks that you’ll keep discovering funny moments that you didn’t catch the first time around. It does resemble late ’80s and early ’90s products and only incorporates a sample of unique concepts. So even though it deviates from the formula here and there, it may be too subtle for some to recognize the tweaks. Actually, it seems like an adult version of License to Drive in some respects, fused with a taste of Better Off Dead. Guess that equates to a homage piece then.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5

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Yogi Bear is another one of those movies where they take beloved characters from old cartoons and stick them in a live action environment and CGI them in. We saw it with Garfield, Scooby Doo and we’ll be seeing it in The Smurfs next year.

The first trailer for Yogi Bear has appeared online with an short introduction from Dan Aykroyd, who is the voice behind Yogi. The film also features Justin Timberlake as Boo-Boo Bear (although you wouldn’t have thought it) and Anna Faris who is probably just collecting a paycheck.

Jellystone Park has been losing business, so greedy Mayor Brown decides to shut it down and sell the land. That means families will no longer be able to experience the natural beauty of the outdoors — and, even worse, Yogi and Boo Boo will be tossed out of the only home they’ve ever known. Faced with his biggest challenge ever, Yogi must prove that he really is “smarter than the average bear” as he and Boo Boo join forces with their old nemesis Ranger Smith to find a way to save Jellystone Park from closing forever.

Warner Bros. will be releasing Yogi Bear on December 17th. Will you be seeing it? Or will Tron Legacy be taking up all your attention that day?

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Oh yes, the first teaser for Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel has premiered on MTV, and it features six more X chromosomes than the original film. That’s right, The Chipettes, Brittany (Anna Faris), Jeanette (Christina Applegate) and Eleanor (Amy Poehler) are going to meet Alvin, Simon and Theodore and…

…God, who knows or cares what kind of mischief they get into?

[Check out the preview in the media box to the right, or CLICK HERE to see it at the source]

Here’s what I do know, both sets of these characters were created by Ross Bagdasarians Junior and Senior to sing popular songs pitched up in a squeaky Chipmunk-esque voice. When this was all originating with Witch Doctor in 1958, Senior Ross Bagdasarian was making novelty records and using technology unavailable to the modern consumer in making the Chipmunks talk and sing. This formula worked so well for him and his son of the same name that it wasn’t until 1982 for the Chipmunks collection of movie songs, “The Chipmunks Go Hollywood” on RCA, that a female character was needed to sing the Olivia Newton John part on “You’re The One That I Want” from Grease. Enter “Charlene The Chippette” who would eventually give birth (by providing the impetus, not through sexual contact) to the three Chippette’s now recognized.

In the modern era, since every Mac sold comes with the Garageband tools needed to pitch your own voice up to a Chipmunk, this property has become stale. With the Bagdasarians holding tight to the Chipmunk rights and with the previous kid-friendly CG/Live-Action combo film, it looks like the Chipmunks are never going to take a route that will be interesting to me ever again (like a serious story about Chipmunks in the music industry could be a Blues Brothers-like comedy with bizzaro twists). Why?

The cost to make the live action Alvin and the Chipmunks? $60 Million
The worldwide gross to date? $360,578,644.

See you this Christmas, Squeakuel. I will be drunk.

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