The Dictator (2012)

The heroic story of a dictator who risked 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, Anna Faris, John C. Reilly

1 win & 1 nomination.

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 | impostor | sunglasses | overalls | political satire | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hillary Clinton: Uncredited, as herself in archive footage.

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Goofs

Zoey tells Aladeen that she went to Amherst (College), but she mispronounces it. The "h" is silent.

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Quotes

General Aladeen: Give a man a vagina and he will shpichs for a day. Teach a man to use his hand as a vagina, and he will shpichs for a lifetime.

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Crazy Credits

In loving memory of Kim Jong-il

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Alternate Versions

Unrated version - 99mins

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Funniest Movie Quotes of the 2010s (2016)

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Soundtracks

Battle Without Honor or Humanity
Written & Performed by Tomoyasu Hotei
Courtesy of IRC2 Corporation/Toshiba EMI Limited
Under License from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Unexpectedly Good

I usually avoid movies I know will be explicit and include crude humor because it's just not my cup of tea. So, right off the bat I was expecting this movie to be absolutely horrible... I do not know if it was my low expectations before the screening, but I actually enjoyed this movie very much. In order to enjoy this movie, however, you do have to somewhat detach yourself from thinking too much into the wealth of racist and crude humor contained in the movie. Nevertheless, The Dictator is satire, it is a movie making fun of the real world, and if you let it be, it makes you aware (while laughing) at the racist thoughts and stereotypes ordinary people have everyday. Yes, it has its strange and explicit scenes, but overall, I think it has substance and it was very funny. Put your "Victorian" influences aside for a night and have a good laugh. Watch it.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hebrew Arabic

Release Date:

16 May 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Finchley's Dream

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,435,092, 20 May 2012

Gross USA:

$59,650,222

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$179,379,533

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:

2.39 : 1