Review

The Dictator

  • Review Date: May 15, 2012
  • R
  • Genre: Comedy
  • 2012

Common Sense Media says

More envelope-pushing humor from Borat comedian.
Age
16
Quality
 

  • Believe it or not, there is a bit of a life lesson amid The Dictator's crude content, rampant stereotyping, and all-around wackiness -- basically, that you shouldn't write anyone off entirely, because in rare cases, there may be hope for even the people who seem the most extreme.
  • Zoey is kind and passionate about human rights and the environment. She's a curious love interest for a dictator, that's for sure, but she certainly has that proverbial heart of gold. Aladeen himself, on the other hand, is offensive, sexist, selfish, violent, and arrogant -- though he's also clearly intended to be a larger-than-life parody. And there's a ton of stereotyping/humor designed to mock specific groups; it's all intended for laughs, but it's guaranteed to offend some viewers.
  • Cartoonish violence with lots of talk (and gestures) about killing people, but no gore. Some scenes involve assassinations and include references to genocide. Aladeen brandishes weapons, and there's a scene in which instruments of torture are discussed at length for their effectiveness. Aladeen is ruthless and quick to order the death of those who have failed him, but not all of his orders are carried out.
  • Aladeen is randy, and so is The Dictator. One scene shows brief full-frontal male nudity; women are also shown topless, and scenes depict masturbation. Lots of references to/suggestions of one-night stands and various sex acts. An early scene shows Aladeen having sex with a famous actress in a prostitution-like exchange; she's very skimpily dressed.
  • Language includes frequent use of words including "s--t," "p---y," "f--k," "c--k," "d--k," and "a--hole," as well as tons of derogatory/racist terms.
  • Lamborghini, Exxon, BP, Rolex, Polaroid, and a few other brands/labels are name-dropped or shown.
  • People drink champagne and other cocktails and liquor at parties. Some smoking shown.

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Borat creator Sacha Baron Cohen's comedy The Dictator is extremely crass, politically incorrect, ridiculous, silly -- and quite funny. If you have a thick skin, you can't help but laugh at Cohen, who this time doesn't mine the humor found in punking unsuspecting people but instead gets guffaws by playing an extremely over-the-top dictator with campy relish. Expect tons of swearing (including "f--k" and derivations thereof, as well as many derogatory/racist terms) and sexual jokes/references, as well as topless women and a brief flash of full-frontal male nudity. As always, Baron Cohen doesn't shy away from stereotype-based humor that's likely to offend; instead, he embraces it.


This review of The Dictator was written by
Age
16
Based on 6 parent & educator reviews:
  • 67% say sexual content is an issue
  • 67% say language is an issue
  • 50% say violence is an issue
  • 50% say there's too much drinking, drugs, or smoking
  • 33% say they noticed product placement

Most useful reviews by all members

Teen, 17 years old
May 19, 2012
 
Sacha Baron Cohen brings more raunchy humor, racial stereotypes, uncomfortable moments
Larry Charles latest collaboration with ever-publicized comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, The Dictator, is funnier than you think, but even at a cramped 83 minute running time, it still manages to feel rather overlong, and a tad forced. Still, The Dictator is a embracingly stupid, crude, disturbing and overall utterly ridiculous raunchfest, which is certainly sure to satisfy it's prime targets, with me being included. While ti certainly wasn't as good as Borat, or even Bruno, the Dictator is a decent enough comedy to watch during this years summer movie season, as more or less a comical alternative, or break, to all of those big budget summer movie action blockbusters that are going to be coming in drove for the next few months, now. Now, the Dictator tell's the "heroic" story of how general Alladeen (Sacha Baron Cohen) managed to stand up for what he believed in in order to change the face of his country, which is dictatorship, communism, anti-freedom and civil rights. Now, since General Alladeen manages to take a bit of a tour through New York City during during 90% of the movies running time, and that some of the fish out of water jokes are a bit tired, including some frequent banter with co-star Ann Faris, the two of them still keep the film fully afloat, not to mention with a bit of help from the other cast members, which include Ben Kingsley (imagine that!) and numerous hilarious cameos from celebrities, including Megan Fox, Edward Norton and others. But, since this movie is Rated R, parents need to be aware of the type of content that Sacha Baron Cohen deals with as a comedian, and that he has been dealing with in his past two films, but, here we go: The film contains a literal non-stop barrage of strong crude and sexual content throughout, which includes a very brief scene of a woman's breasts being milked, thong and bra-clad slaves being told to pleasure a man, a extremely graphic but comical birth scene where we see several shots of the inside of a woman's vagina, with several objects including a cell phone and two peoples hands being inserted into it; also, there are several shots of full frontal male nudity of the main lead, with most of them being close-ups, and will make most people in the audience terribly uncomfortable, but it is all very funny stuff; and, finally, there is even a scene where the main character is taught how to masturbate, which involves bizarre images of what he is masturbating to, overly-exaggerated shots of his outrageous arm movements, and even several shots of his semen covered tissue paper. Also, there is some occasional violent content, including several very graphic, but very crude and funny images of a mans decapitated head being used as the pawn in several jokes. And, finally, there is frequent but fairly average profanity for a R Rated movie, but it does include several uses each of f--k, sh-t, d-mn, h-ll, b-tch and b-strd. So, even though The Dictator had me laughing frequently, and hard, it just wasn't enough to make the entire movie completely worth paying for, but as I see it, it is still definitely a must for fans of Sacha Baron Cohen, just like me.

Teen, 16 years old
May 16, 2012
 
kfgod
Funny but can be offensive comedy delivers lots of laughs but it's not perfect.

Teen, 14 years old
May 16, 2012
 
not for kids
this movie includes explicit sex scenes that may be to strong for teens 15 and under

Educator
May 17, 2012
 
Enter at your own risk
although he is witty there are many off color ethnic jokes, references to anal sex and raping. and it is filled with twisted humor.Just another example of what kids get exposed to and how celebrities insist on pushing limits then call it entertainment

Adult
May 17, 2012
 
The Dictator
I've seen the ad and it is seriously meant for 19 year olds!

Kid, 12 years old
May 16, 2012
 
i want to see this
i'd love to see this (but i can't because i'm only 12)

Teen, 13 years old
May 17, 2012
 
How old you should watch this movie.
This movie is not right for kids from age 1-16 because it contains many sex scenes. It also has inappropriate language. This may also influence your children to drink, smoke, and do drugs.

Teen, 14 years old
May 21, 2012
 
For the topic and actors in this movie....the movie was actually very appropriate
There was a suprisingly low amount of sex in this movie and all the violence is quite comical. THis movie will make you roll on the ground laughing. A very clever topic to that hasent been done before. This movie will be enjoyed by younger kids and all of the profane stuff will go right over their heads. 10 times less inappropriate than borat or bruno.

Parent
May 20, 2012
 
Keep Walking
Like another said, just another sorry excuse for entertainment. The only thing that could be learnt from this movie, is how to be evil.

Teen, 16 years old
May 22, 2012
 
The Dictator... A Movie for Mature Teens and No One Else
The Dictator manages to get laughs from the audience by poking fun at terrorism, racism, sexism, rape, and sexuality. Although it may be extremely funny for the more mature teenagers and adults, this movie is definitely not for kids. It is also important to note the previous movies that this actor, Sacha Baron Cohen, has acted in, because this movie is very similar to his others, very graphic and raw. In my opinion, this movie was NOT as funny as Cohen's older movie Borat.

(R, 2006)
Brace yourself -- Borat is here. Not for kids.
(HBO)
Borat, Bruno, and Ali G -- oh my! Not for kids.
(R, 1999)
Entertaining raunchfest; not for kids.