The Dictator (2012)

The heroic story of a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.

Director:

Larry Charles

Writers:

Sacha Baron Cohen, Alec Berg,

Stars:

Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley, Anna Faris

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sacha Baron Cohen	...	Aladeen / Efawadh
Sayed Badreya	...	Omar
Rocky Citron	...	Baby Aladeen
Liam Campora	...	Aladeen Age 6
Aasif Mandvi	...	Doctor
Rizwan Manji	...	Patient
Rick Chambers	...	Newscaster Voiceover (voice)
Elsayed Mohamed	...	Wadiyan Olympic Official
Adeel Akhtar	...	Maroush
Horatio Sanz	...	Aide on Balcony
Ben Kingsley	...	Tamir
Elena Goode	...	Virgin Guard
Nazanin Homa	...	Virgin Guard (as Naz Homa)
Dawn Jackson	...	Virgin Guard (as Dawn Zimniak)
Victoria Beltran	...	Virgin Guard

Storyline

The Republic of Wadiya is ruled by an eccentric and oppressive leader named Hafez Aladeen. Aladeen is summoned to New York to a UN assembly to address concerns about his country's nuclear weapons program, but the trip goes awry.

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Plot Keywords:

dictator | hotel | oil | nuclear weapons | general | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, brief male nudity, language and some violent images

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hebrew

Release Date:

16 May 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

El dictador

Filming Locations:

7 West 30th Street, New York, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$17,435,092 (USA) (18 May 2012)

Gross:

$59,617,068 (USA) (20 July 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Four by Two Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min 99 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The exterior scenes of the Wadiya Palace were shot at the Plaza de España in Seville, and computer graphics were used to add the twin golden domes.

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Goofs

During the Gotham Helicopter tours scene, the view from the windows show that the helicopter flies over the same river about 3 times randomly between shots.

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Quotes

[Aladeen and Nadal are at Gotham Helicopter Tours, preparing to board the helicopter]
Nadal: Here's the plan: We're going to take this helicopter tour and fly over the Lancaster to spot its weaknesses. Remember, we're just two ordinary American tourists looking at the sights.
General Aladeen: [Wearing an American flag jogging suit and a sheriff's badge] Don't worry, nobody gonna suspect anything. It's a great plan, pointy.
Nadal: Don't do anything to arouse any suspicions.
General Aladeen: Don't worry, I am Wadiya's number one actor. You don't...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Extra scenes during the end credits, including making-of moments.

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Connections

References You've Got Mail (1998)

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Soundtracks

"9 to 5"
Written by Dolly Parton
Performed by Michelle Jubilee Gonzalez (as Michelle J. Nasser)
Produced by Peter Amato & Erran Baron Cohen
Translated by Souhail Kaspar (uncredited) & Michelle Jubilee Gonzalez (uncredited)

User Reviews

Not as funny as Borat, but Sacha's hilarious once again

Following last year's impressive performance in Martin Scorsese's critically-acclaimed Hugo (2011), British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen is back doing what he does best with yet another satirical caricature to add to his ever growing list. For his latest endeavor, The Dictator (2012), Cohen has once again reunited with director Larry Charles (Borat, Bruno), in a film that benefits much from an uncharacteristically straightforward narrative.

The Dictator's narrative is a little bit more scripted than Cohen's previous efforts, which saw him interact with real people - often with hilarious results. In addition to the riches-to-rags story beat, there is also a Rom-com element to the film as Aladeen is helped along his journey of redemption by Zoey, which makes for some humorous moments.

You needn't worry about it being too scripted though; Cohen's unique brand of offensive humor is on full display from the outset as sexist, racist, and vulgar gags abound. Saddled in-between are a number of outrageous, cringe-worthy sequences that have long been Cohen's trademark. These often occur with scientist turned partner-in-crime Nadal, and the chemistry between Cohen and Mantzoukas is evident.

Admittedly, not all the jokes hit their mark - the celebrity cameos (including Megan Fox) don't have the intended impact, but the audience reaction is for the most part well-calculated. The hilarious usage of overblown music tracks such as Moment Like This is just one example of the excellent comedic timing which permeates The Dictator throughout.

If you don't take Cohen's latest role too seriously, you may likely find Admiral General Aladeen to be another fantastic character to add to Cohen's catalogue. Assuming you're not easily offended, The Dictator is laugh-out-loud comedy at its best.