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Who Is America? disturbs as Republican congressmen endorse arming toddlers in new Sacha Baron Cohen series

The politicians support training three-year-olds in the usage of guns

Jacob Stolworthy

Monday 16 July 2018 08:44 BST

Who Is America?: Sacha Baron Cohen gets Republican congressmen to endorse his fictional campaign to arm pre-schoolers

New Sacha Baron Cohen comedy series Who Is America? is already courting controversy after just one episode.

The Borat funnyman is back doing what he does best - duping infamous figures into looking very silly - and one such moment in the debut episode, which will air on Channel 4 tonight (16 July), is doing the rounds.

It shows numerous Republican congressman throwing their support behind the arming of pre-school children.

In character as Erran Morrad, Cohen proposes a program called 'Kinderguardians' which he pitches to the members of Congress, including Dana Rohrbacher, Joe Walsh and former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott as training toddlers in how to fire guns.

Joe Wilson chillingly endorses the idea, saying: “A 3-year-old cannot defend itself from an assault rifle by throwing a Hello Kitty pencil case at it. Our founding fathers did not put an age limit on the second amendment.”

Gun activists Philip van Cleave and Larry Pratt also endorse the idea with Cohen going so far as to get the former to record a promotional video in support.

Cohen has riled up many figures who'll feature in the series, namely Sarah Palin who branded the comedian as “exploitive and sick” after posing as a wounded US veteran to get an interview for the series.

Walsh, who attended a fake pro-Israel event on his invitation without realising Cohen was the funnyman behind creations such as Ali G and Borat, has since joined a social media campaign to boycott the network that is showing the brand new series.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

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1/14Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

1. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Kicking us off is Phil Lord and Christopher Mille’s bizarre animated film about a scientist who creates a machine that transforms water into food. So far, not too crazy, but then the machine gets stuck in the sky and it starts raining food. Everything goes wrong and Flint Lockwood must save the day by flying up to the machine and kicking fried chicken butt. Yeah, a pretty crazy premise, but a fantastic film.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

2. Frank

Michael Fassbender may be one of the most bankable stars of the moment - having starred in the likes of Steve Jobs, X-Men and Macbeth - but in 2014, instead of flaunting his face, producers decided to make him wear a weird papier-mâché mask for the film’s near entirety. The plot see’s Fassbender’s titular character front a rock band, play SXSW and make ‘likeable’ music. It’s all just a bit strange.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

3. Groundhog Day

Almost anything with Bill Murray in it is a win in my book, but when you say the premise of Ground Hog day out loud - a weatherman who must relive the same day over and over again - it sounds quite boring. What transpired was one of Murray’s funniest films.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

4. Star Wars

With Star Wars being so prevalent in pop-culture, it’s hard to imagine a time when no-one except George Lucas knew what a Lightsaber was. Producers must have been shocked when this young director came into the office trying to sell a script about Luke Skywalker, R2D2, Darth Vader, Chewbacca and Stormtroopers. Thankfully, they believed in his vision and now we have one of the best sci-fi sagas of all time.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

5. Incepetion

A dream, within a dream, within a dream. Even those who watched Inception were left confused, let alone those who only heard what the film was about. Christopher Nolan’s final flick, however, was a masterclass in storytelling and one of the best films of the last ten years.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

6. Speed

The high-concept Speed is quite ridiculous really. Keanu Reeves can’t let a bus go below 50 miles per hour or it will blow up. It’s quite amazing how Jan de Bont managed to make his debut 116 minutes long in the first place, let alone making it a decent film in the process.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

7. Edward Scissorhands

Tim Burton is a director who could fill this entire list up. While he may have chosen to reboot numerous films in the past few years (Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the upcoming Dumbo 2) it was his original concepts that set him apart from everyone else. In Burton’s head, the love story of a man with scissors for hands and a young woman made complete sense, while for everyone else - from just the premise - it seemed entirely weird. Luckily, he was given the opportunity to make the film and a cult classic was born, all while Johnny Depp’s ability to play the outsider was solidified.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

8. Mrs Doubtfire

Post-Hook and Aladdin, Robin Williams was on a role. One of his standout performances was as Mrs. Doubtfire, the father-turned-drag-housekeeper. As a premise, dressing your lead male as a woman wasn’t exactly new (see Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie), so the filmmakers ran the risk of it all seeming like an overdone joke. Luckily, Chris Columbus managed to pull off the ridiculous plot (how wouldn’t the kids know it’s their father, really?) leading to one of the funniest films of the 90s.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

9. The Lobster

Like Burton, most of Yorgos Lanthimos’s films could probably feature on this page, but we’ve gone with The Lobster. The film tells of a hotel where residents must find a suitable partner within 45 days otherwise they will be turned into an animal. Try to run away and the other residents will hunt you down with tranquillisers. The result was one of the best love stories of 2015.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

10. Ant-Man

Some comic book superheroes should not be adapted to the big screen (*cough* Howard the Duck *cough*). Ant-Man is not one of them. Against all the odds, Paul Rudd and Peyton Reed managed to make a compelling film about a man who could shrink down in size and control ants. What’s incredible is that - somehow - the film quickly became one of Marvel’s most beloved films. Of course, everyone knew Marvel could pull off weird, having knocked it out of the park with Guardians of the Galaxy the year before.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

11. Beetlejuice

Two ghosts living in their old home want to scare away the alive people who now live there. Unfortunately, the new home-owners can’t see them and so the ghosts have to call upon a deranged Michael Keaton to help them out. Add one of the strangest afterlife scenes in film history and you’ve got a brilliant film.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

12. Forrest Gump

While not an obvious contender like Star Wars or Beetlejuice, when you think about it, Forrest Gump is a weird idea. A below-average intelligent man, sitting on a bench, waiting for a bus, telling strangers about all the famous moments in history where he observed/effected. Thanks to Tom Hanks, Gump was a magical film of love and hope, winning over the hearts of thousands and becoming an instant classic.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

13. The Lego Movie

Another film from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, The Lego Movie shouldn’t have worked. Making a beloved toy into a film; it was all just a bit silly. Thankfully, Chris Pratt’s turn as Emmett (and a catchy song in “Everything is Awesome”) the film was a huge hit with critics and fans alike, and now we have a cinematic universe of Lego movies to come. Awesome?

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

14. I’m Not There

“Let’s get Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw to all play Bob Dylan in a single film”, Todd Haynes said. While you would think that would be overkill, the result was stunning, with Dylan himself eventually praising the film in 2012.

Disgraced US Senate candidate Roy Moore – who was accused of sexual assault by nine women – also revealed he was tricked into appearing on the show, stating: “As an American, I would never hide my identity and deceive others only to mock and ridicule them as this Showtime series is designed to do. America is not only about being proud but about being brave and standing for what we believe.”

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