Is Sasha Baron Cohen Funny?

[Gavin Scott]

He must be if some folk laugh, but I don't get him. As far back as Ali G I felt he was over-rated. Not sure how he's managed to escalate himself to motion pictures either.

Will Gompertz has interviewed him (barely - it was a terrible interview with Gompertz thinking he's Cohen's "latest victim" by playing another character), but taking it at face value he [Cohen] suggests that his comedy inspiration stems from being a persecuted Jew.

Quite how you reconcile this with the characters he's created, I'd be interested to know.

So - funny or pile of shite?

[bilky asko]

His amazing power to annoy is what makes him so funny, simply put.

[marksi]

Pile of shite.

[madmusician]

I think I was of the age when Borat was released to find the general offensiveness rebellious enough to find funny. However, I thought that the main storyline got very silly very quickly. Haven't seen anything of his since, nor am I planning to see The Dictator, so I think, yes, overrated is probably correct.

[Alexia]

The real test of his abilities will come when the Freddie Mercury biopic comes out. I will reserve judgment on him until then. Get it right, he will prove himself as a talented performer.

Get it wrong, and it will prove that all his ability consists of is getting dressed up in various stereotypical outfits and acting "outrageously" to provoke a reaction from the ill-informed, ignorant and the undeserving.

[Nick Harvey]

I'm with marksi.

[Finn]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

And in case anyone was in any doubt:

No.

[martindtanderson]

I feel the same way about Ricky Gervais. Can't stand the guy, not one little bit!

[Finn]

I feel the same way about Ricky Gervais. Can't stand the guy, not one little bit!

Absolutely.

[all new Phil]

I think he's good. He's certainly clever, however when he made Bruno I think he'd made the age-old mistake of not understanding what people liked about his previous stuff, and thus thought that all-out crude and offensive makes something popular (see also Little Britain, Austin Powers). Whilst Borat was pretty crude and offensive, he was a believable character and was played and written very well. Ali G was, I thought, also a good character who he played well. The Bruno film was just all out vulgar, though, and I'll be interested to see if he's learnt from the mistakes he made in that film with his new one, which I probably will go and see at some point.