Coming from the man who gave the world Ali G, Borat, and Bruno (Sacha Baron Cohen), and his regular directing collaborator Larry Charles, The Dictator sees the comedy icon take on the guise of an arrogant Middle Eastern dictator (General Aladeen) for the hilarious, upcoming, fish-out-of-water comedy; the trailer for which can now be seen below.
Co-starring Ben Kingsley (Shutter Island); as one of Aladeen’s military advisors; Transformers star Megan Fox (as herself), and John C. Reilly (Cyrus); as a secret agent working for the US; The Dictator will follow a more traditional narrative than Baron Cohen’s usual mockumentary style; following the titular dictator General Aladeen as he journey’s to New York city in order to deliver a speech to the UN, only to be kidnapped, shaved, and end up a penniless hobo, before working as a local shopkeeper.
Starting out as a ruthless dictator who’ll do anything to get his way, and is determined to stop the spread of democracy engulfing the country which he has so lovingly oppressed, General Aladeen soon ends up accidentally falling in love with the USA, and the woman who not only befriended him, but gave him a job (Scary Movie’s Anna Faris), but will have to make a few adjustments if he’s to get used to life as a westerner (shooting people in an organized sprint, slapping customers, and kicking children probably won’t go down too well in the US).
The Dictator has been written by Baron Cohen himself, Alec Berg (Eurotrip), David Mandel (Eurotrip), and Jeff Schaffer (Bruno), and should prove to be a hugely entertaining watch for both die-hard fans of Cohen’s work and people who prefer their comedy a little broader, and is due to be released on May 11th in the US, before making its UK release date on May 16th.
This article was sponsored by Paramount Pictures.
More information about The Dictator can be found here.
