Why It Ranks
The Dictator made $179 million and proved Baron Cohen could do scripted comedy at scale. The democracy speech alone earns its place. The character of Aladeen is Baron Cohen's most quotable creation after Borat. The Oscars red carpet stunt — dumping 'ashes' on Ryan Seacrest — was performance art.
The Film
The Dictator is Sacha Baron Cohen's scripted attempt to replicate the shock comedy of Borat in a narrative framework. Admiral General Aladeen, dictator of the fictional Republic of Wadiya, is Baron Cohen's most extreme character — a narcissistic tyrant who replaces 300 words in his language with his own name. The 'democracy' speech at the end — where Aladeen describes a dictatorship using American policies — is the most pointed political comedy of the decade. Not as good as Borat, but funnier than 95% of everything else.
Fun Facts
Baron Cohen arrived at the Oscars in character as Aladeen and dumped fake ashes on Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet.
Ben Kingsley took the role because he found the script's satire of Middle Eastern dictators genuinely insightful.
The helicopter scene in New York was filmed guerrilla-style with real tourists who did not know they were in a movie.
The democracy speech was written and rewritten over 30 times — Baron Cohen wanted every comparison to be factually accurate.
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