Sunday, November 12, 2006 - 5:56PM

Christians and families: Skip 'Borat'

By DAN ROBINSON

Editor/Photographer

I can't imagine the kind of audiovisual cesspools that the Plugged In magazine movie reviewers have to expose themselves to on a weekly basis. I don't know how they do it. They'll watch and review every movie that comes out, even if its title alone tags it as having NC-17 aspirations. But they do it for a good cause - they advise parents and discerning Christians on what movies to avoid. I guess someone has to watch them to find this stuff out. Not surprisingly, most movies don't get Plugged In's total 'thumbs up'. Sometimes I wonder why they even try to review moves, since so many these days are off the charts in terms of what the average Christian would want to see.

Enter Borat - the movie promos have the title character coming off as a likeable, friendly and entertaining guy. The premise of the character is promisingly funny. But like so many routines today, it's taken to levels beyond what anyone should see - and that is where Borat disappoints. While I haven't seen the movie, I've watched several YouTube clips of his work and read the Plugged In reviews of the graphic movie. Summarizing Borat is simple. The whole premise of his act is using the persona of a likeable, seemingly niave foreigner as a way to do and say graphically inappropriate things to unsuspecting people. He takes a good comedic concept and ruins it by orchestrating heinously vile situations that scar both his victims and his viewers. Like so many things with TV and movies these days, the Borat clips I did see are things I wish I could just erase from my memory. Sadly, 'Borat' is getting rave reviews and the movie has become a box office smash, showing the true state of a country who not only tolerates content like this, but supports and celebrates it.

Take my word for it and just avoid 'Borat'.