Sacha Baron Cohen is Back in "Borat 2" Trailer and Ready for More Laughter

Well, well, well... one has to wonder how we got here. Over the past decade, it became clearer that Sacha Baron Cohen wasn't going to make a comeback to his guerrilla-style approach to comedy. It was becoming unsustainable, with everyone expecting him to show up and do something wacky. However, the past few years have been a pleasant surprise, as his lackluster TV show Who Is America? found him trying to add humor to these divided times. However, nobody could've expected what came next. Considering that he remains one of the biggest icons in 21st-century comedy history, the idea of a Borat sequel was unfathomable.

And yet, here we are. Not only was it announced this week that a movie was on the way, but it's less than a month away. It's the type of action that would make fans yell "Jagshemash!" and wonder what the beloved character has to say about the current times. From the looks of the trailer, very little has changed as far as his absurd and spry approach to social commentary. Only the names and events have changed, and it looks to be a good time. The question is if this will live up to the original, bringing with it a timeless look into a time that's maybe best ridiculed. If nothing else, there are more than a few good jokes here to offer that hope.

To be totally honest, the Borat phenomenon is hard to explain in 2020 for a variety of reasons. It was a comedy that reveled in poor tastes while taking average Americans to explore their own personal divides in entertaining ways. However, more than the accent or the many memorable catchphrases, it's difficult to explain one detail that makes it worthy of keeping on The Oscar Buzz's radar. Along with more serious contenders, it's interesting to note that Cohen is an Oscar-nominee. No, this isn't some premature prediction for his role in The Trial of the Chicago 7. This is truth because, in 2007, he did the unthinkable and made the film into a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination.

It's all a bit insane and remains one of the most fascinating nominations in 21st-century history. On the one hand, it makes sense as a launchpad for Cohen's future career in comedy and drama. Even if he's waxed and waned in the years since, there was always the hope that he would deliver something as triumphant as his early run with Da Ali G Show spin-offs. In all honesty, Borat's the only one that truly caught on with audiences (though I still like Bruno). It remains one of the best comedies that blurred fact and fiction so swiftly that you haven't been able to find a better reflection of late-Bush-era politics than that.

Which makes Borat 2 very interesting. What does he even look like in 2020? While he has popped up from time to time in bits, he hasn't provided a full-on movie in the years since. What does he have to say, especially now that he's a phenomenon that's more dififcult to film? Somehow, he pulled it off and I'm frankly excited to see if he could pull it off. While I don't think his work on Who Is America? was really all that successful, one can hope he found a way to make it work this time around.

Check out the trailer below:

Looks very nice. Here's the plot description according to IMDb:

Follow-up film to the 2006 comedy centering on the real-life adventures of a fictional Kazakh television journalist named Borat.

Okay, maybe not the most encouraging description imaginable, but there's room to argue that this will be another wild adventure. My one concern is that there's a bit that's premature, especially since he's tackling the Coronavirus already. However, there's room to suggest that it will only make it more pointed and timely. I hope that it's pretty good and has something important to say. If nothing else, it looks like another series of wild antics that include a mentally unstable sister that I hope doesn't become a breeding ground for certain poor taste jokes. If nothing else, that could suggest why Borat couldn't be made today.

While I can't argue for this film being a surefire Oscar hit, that's exactly how everyone saw Borat about 14 years ago. It came out of nowhere and took the country by storm. I imagine that this will be the case again, or at least serve as one of Amazon Studios more noteworthy films for the year. After all, they are in need of a big hit after failing to get any nomination last year. If nothing else, this looks like a pretty good time and I'm here for whatever Cohen has in store. I want to see how he pulls it off. I'm sure it will be one of the few miracles of 2020.