The Dictator

Cohen plays the maniacal dictator of a small oil-rich African nation who ends up homeless, powerless, and beardless in New York City after a botched coup by his military chief, played by Ben Kingsley.

After a trio of mockumentaries, Cohen’s first scripted vehicle is a mix of political satire and gross-out humor. To wit: after helping deliver a baby, a dejected Cohen announces that it’s a girl, then asks for a trash can, assuming the parents would want to throw the newborn away. Unfortunately, moments like this, when the genres gel, are few and far between. Much of the humor feels like a retread of Cohen’s earlier Borat, and the gross out gags feel forced and gratuitous, making even the scant 83-minute running time feel overlong.