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Joel Corcoran: It does, but Kaufman bridged that gap by appearing in Taxi. I think Cohen essentially is doing the same thing through Borat and Ali G. He hits that very rare sweet spot of being highly entertaining and very satirical at the same time. He appeals to mass audiences with the goofiness and shtick, but underneath, the text of what he says is completely outside the mainstream.

Tim Briody: I think there's something to that. This is pretty much lightning in a bottle. There can't be another Borat movie because everyone knows him now.

Kim Hollis: He's partly struck a chord because his message is timely, too. I'm sure it's no accident that the film was released days before an election.

Tim Briody: The people not knowing how to act around him is most of the appeal.

David Mumpower: And yet Bruno set off a bidding war in recent weeks before Universal eventually won.

Reagen Sulewski: They're going to try with Bruno, but it's going to be a trickier sell.

Joel Corcoran: I hate to give away even a minor spoiler, but David, I can't see how tricking a bar full of people into singing "Throw the Jew Down the Well" can be considered mainstream comedy.

David Mumpower: For starters, you don't show it in the trailer. How they sell Borat is a different beast from what Borat is. There is a scene similar to that one from the television show in the movie, but it's not advertised for a reason. Let's separate what Borat is from what people are led to believe it is.

Joel Corcoran: Which is exactly my point. That scene has been mentioned by at least a few reviewers and publicly mentioned. And while it's satirical gold on so many levels, it's also pretty damn funny watching a bunch of people getting tricked into singing along. It's like Lewis Black hosting "Candid Camera."

Reagen Sulewski: I think he would definitely come off as entirely too mean in a 30 second spot if you showed some of those scenes, versus letting people get into the movie and seeing just how ridiculous his racism is.

Kim Hollis: Honestly, I was uncomfortable with some of the meanness in the film. Though I certainly got the point.

David Mumpower: I find the entire juxtaposition odd. I can understand why Jewish groups were so uncomfortable with the film. Cohen is Jewish himself, but much of the "comedy" in his film is strongly anti-Semetic. How should they handle that disconnect and its attempt to bring extreme, irrational prejudices to life? I don't know the answer to that.

Reagen Sulewski: I think it's so over the top that it's impossible to take seriously.

Joel Corcoran: I think Reagen has it. The statements are so outlandish and absurd that it illuminates how utterly ridiculous any form of anti-semitism is. I think Cohen's character in Talladega Nights, Jean Girard, did the same thing for homophobia in a couple brief scenes in that movie.

Borat is hoping to steal some tears from Gypsy Jack Sparrow

Kim Hollis: Which opening do you find more surprising, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest or Borat?

Reagen Sulewski: Borat, by a mile. Pirates had the benefit of building on one of the biggest hits in recent memory.





Tim Briody: Borat, easily. We only started mentioning it around the time of Talladega Nights' release in August, but I don't think it was really on the radar until maybe a month ago.

David Mumpower: They are much different kinds of surprises. The site projected Dead Man's Chest would break the record for biggest opening of all-time. The degree of it was shocking, but I don't think it approaches this. Borat has the third largest venue count of all time. You couldn't find anyone last week who thought it would win the weekend. This is the closest thing to The Blair Witch Project we've seen in the seven plus years since its release.

Joel Corcoran: Definitely Borat. The success of Pirates was very surprising, but still within the realm of possibility. But before this weekend, I would've considered Borat's opening performance about as likely as Ryan Phillippe returning my phone calls.

Kim Hollis: No question, it's Borat. I still don't think most people I know even have a clue what Borat is.

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