The Dictator: Movie Review

If you can look past the offensive stereotypes and racial slurs, The Dictator brings you out of the stress of Exeter life with a dose of juvenile humor.In the movie, General Admiral Aladeen, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, is the dictator of a North African country named Wadiya. His attempt to build a nuclear weapon is quickly halted by the United Nations. Aladeen responds to this by making a journey to America with his uncle Tamir in hopes to calm the world down.Tamir, however, has different plans. He attempts to assassinate Aladeen, using a stunt double to fill his position who will secretly be Tamir’s “puppet” as he attempts to bring democracy to Wadiya. But before Aladeen can be killed, he escapes, losing his long and “fashionable” beard in the process.As Aladeen plots to retake his dictatorship, he meets a young girl named Zoey who is passionate about feminism and other ideas that all heavily contrast with Aladeen’s views. Zoey hires Aladeen for her supermarket, thinking that Aladeen is a refugee from a dictatorship. Somehow, the two fall in love, and Zoey begins to warp Aladeen’s morals and political views, which provides some unexpected plot twists later in the movie.Zoey and Aladeen’s contrasting personalities provide an entertaining plot between the lovers. For example, after disappointing Zoey with his racist remarks against her customers, Aladeen attempts to make it up by enforcing tough laws, just like in his dictatorship in Wadiya, to the workers of her supermarket while she is taking a break from work. Somehow, this improves the store drastically, and Zoey is greatly thankful for Aladeen.If you think that is unexpected, try understanding the plot. The cast members go from stealing the heads of corpses from funerals to giving off the impression of terrorists, as during a tour of New York City on a helicopter in mere seconds. You will be constantly thrown into wild events, while always wondering what just happened in the previous scene.But even with all the crazy plot twists and crude scenes, The Dictator also has a few moments that convey memorable messages concerning realistic political problems in modern society.At the end of the movie, Aladeen gives a speech explaining to the United Nations why a dictatorship is better than democracy. In his speech, Aladeen glorifies the “advantages” of Wadiya’s tyranny, which directly correspond with many of the political conflicts of the American democratic system. Although Aladeen does not directly reference America, one can notice Director Larry Charles’ message that even the governments of First World countries share identical problems like those of Aladeen’s abusive dictatorship. Even after the movie ends, we are left pondering this deeper message.Overall, we think that The Dictator was worth the hour and twenty minutes and recommend at least giving it a try, although it can be offensive. The fast-paced, constantly surprising storyline will keep you engaged, and the crude scenes won’t fail to make you laugh. But keep in mind thatmost of the movie is not meant to be taken seriously, and showing support of some of its morals might reward you with an ASAP.