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As it happenedended

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'Who Is America?' review: Sacha Baron Cohen shocks with segment on guns for pre-schoolers and baffles Trump supporters in new series

As it happened: Bernie Sanders and former Senate Republican leader Trent Lott among those caught up in first episode of comedy series

Chris Stevenson

New York

Tuesday 17 July 2018 08:51 BST

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First look clip from Sacha Baron Cohen's 'Who Is America-'

Sacha Baron Cohen has returned to screens with a provocative new comedy show - and Who is America? is already courting controversy.

In a seven-episode series launched on US cable channel Showtime on Sunday, the British prankster takes on four different personas as he satirises the political and cultural life of the United States in the era of President Donald Trump.

The first is Dr. Billy Wayne Ruddick, founder of fictional right-wing news site Truthbrary.org, whose aim is to take down the “mainstreme” media. In the first episode his target was Bernie Sanders. Dr Nira Cain-N’Degeocello is an extreme liberal shocking Republican Trump supporters.

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There is also freed criminal Ricky Sherman, whose 'personal' paintings are taken to one fine art expert and Erran Morad is a harsh Israeli anti-terrorism expert waving the flag for a new program he calls “Kinderguardians,” which would train kids aged to 16 how to use gun

In the first episode Morad gets two US congressmen to voice support for his fake "Kinderguardians" scheme for children as young as three.

The scheme includes a fake instructional video featuring children's songs and "gunimals" -- weapons adorned with soft toys -- that would purportedly help kids confront the school shootings that have plagued the United States for the past decade.

Film premises that shouldn’t have worked but did

Show all 14

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.

Republican members of Congress Dana Rohrabacher of California and Joe Wilson of South Carolina, along with former Senate Republican leader Trent Lott, who is now a lobbyist at a Washington law firm, are shown enthusiastically backing the idea, alongside gun rights advocates and a former congressman-turned-talk radio host, Joe Walsh.

Mr Walsh told CNN on Saturday that he was tricked into reading the words off a teleprompter. Mr Walsh, the former congressman from Illinois, told CNN on Saturday that he had been asked by a documentary crew to read lines from a teleprompter endorsing various supposed Israeli innovations, including the idea of arming four-year-olds to defend themselves against terrorists.

Mr Walsh added that he is a fan of Baron Cohen. "He's a funny guy because he gets people to say stupid things."

Reuters contributed to this report

The full list of people said to be have been duped by Baron Cohen includes Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin, Howard Dean, Alberto Gonzales, Bernie Sanders, Trent Lott, David Petraeus and Ted Koppel

Kristin Hugo16 July 2018 02:30

There are a few tweets going around suggesting that anyone that has been duped by the new programme should probably not be involved in any discussions of classified information

Kristin Hugo16 July 2018 02:33

We are less than 20 minutes away from the start of the programme, but some of those involved have spent all day looking to explain there participation. Former Congressman Joe Walsh says he will "live with" being "got" by Baron Cohen.

Kristin Hugo16 July 2018 02:51

A number of reviews are already in for Who is America?. Feel free to take a look in the 60 seconds before it starts.

The verdicts are in on Sacha Baron Cohen's controversial new comedy series

Kristin Hugo16 July 2018 03:00

Well, we have started as we mean to go on. The 'truther' Republican character is talking to Bernie Sanders about healthcare and has said he would rather be 'raped' then send another dollar to the government.

Controversy straight away.

Kristin Hugo16 July 2018 03:04

Now we are onto the liberal end of the scale. We are in South Carolina having sinner with a couple of Trump voters.

This will likely get messy. Instead of Grace, Baron Cohen suggests a First Nation chant.

Kristin Hugo16 July 2018 03:06

Here we go:

"My son Harvey Milk is not allowed to urinate standing up."

He then talks about his daughter Malala. And talks about her "free bleeding" during her menstruation.

The two poor Trump voters don't know where to look

Kristin Hugo16 July 2018 03:08

Malala is now "free bleeding on the American flag".

The silence is loaded with tension as they don't answer his monologue.

He adds it started to "look like the Chinese flag". That got a reaction.

Kristin Hugo16 July 2018 03:10

Now comes British prisoner Ricky Sherman who is trying to get his prison 'painted' feces drawings taken in by a gallery.

Kristin Hugo16 July 2018 03:14

This has been flagged as the weakest of Baron Cohen's new characters - and you can see why.

He is much better when taking on the political; elements.

Kristin Hugo16 July 2018 03:15

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