"No sense of humor Why are gays such blue-noses?"

Dude, there are gay people who posted in this thread about loving the film.

But because Mr. Rakoff didn't like it, all gay people have no sense of humor, eh?

Fine. If that's the scale of non-sequituring today, from this day forward, I'll be wary of everyone with an "o" in their first name.

And it's "the gays" for you, buddy.

Sacha Baron Cohen is a gay minstrel in the most literal sense? Meaning he's, what, a happy medieval traveling musician?

Salon, where your copy editors at?

This is sort of what Cohen does.

He has three well known Characters Ali Gee (the hip hop idiot), Borat (the foreign idiot), and Bruno (the gay idiot).

In all cases humor comes as much from his foils as it does from his own character's idiocy.

You can make a broad assessment of his work, that by playing the idiot, putting on the hip hop, foreign, or gay minstral show, he is infact mocking his foils. He presents that these are people who can't see through his clear "black face", and think he is a real life foreigner, hiphop reporter, or gay german (I think as many jokes are about him being german as they are about him being gay).

It all comes from a very broad british sensibility. Such ethnic and cultural mockery is far more accepted in Britan at least based on the programming of the BBC. And I think he likely really wants at it's core to be a mockery of those who can't see through his facade. However, as a comic he does go for the cheap laugh, just as all comics will do, especially when they try to say something bold. It scares a clown (which is what Cohen is in the most honest and noble meaning of the word) when people don't laugh but simply say "my how clever". So he will put in bits that do nothing to mock his foils but let us all laugh at the funny foreigner, hiphoper or gay man.

The second you put on the gay fashion reporter hat, the jokes are going to go south very fast. And I get the feeling from the clips and previews that Mr. Humphries had more subtlty than Bruno (though of course as a German, subtlety is not a strong character trait).

I think Rakoff is playing with a popular (among American liberal Jews) phrase: "Is X bad for the Jews?" It's half-joke, half-serious, according to my friend, a reform Rabbi. We were discussing a media story where an airport (was it Seattle?) pulled all of its (Christian) holiday decorations after another rabbi asked "Could you please put up a menorah?" Even though that rabbi offered to provide his own menorah for the display, airport officials refused, saying they would then have to cater to every minor religion in their decorations, which could bankrupt them. When the rabbi threatened a lawsuit, the airport took down all the Christmas decorations.

My friend the rabbi (not the rabbi in the lawsuit) quipped "I see his point, and I think the airport officials are being complete jerks, but I have to say 'This is probably bad for the Jews.'"

Indeed! Recently I was visiting the town where I grew up (in Ohio) and I went out to a bar to meet some old friends, have a drink. This is a bar with a gay clientele, obviously. It was trendy, bright and fun-and very popular. A group of women entered, and one was wearing a bridal veil. Obvioulsy, this was her bacholorette night out. They seated themselves at a table, and waited, waited, waited. Finally, one of the women went up to the bar and asked why they were not getting any service. She was told "I know you all want to have a good time in a safe environment, and I have nothing against that, but until we are able to marry and enjoy all the rights you take for granted, bringing your bachelorette party into a gay bar is an insult. I am not serving you. Sorry, it's not personal." Of course, it wasn't loud enough that I couldn't hear (and we were at the bar). Part of me though that denying service to anyone was just ignorant, but part of me completely understood.

On another not, yes, the author's use of the term "the gays" is most certainly "othering." Who says there aren't homophobes amongst progressives?

Let me add, that Rakoff himself is openly gay. (He is a regular contributor to npr's "This American Life," as well as a writer and performer, and is wickedly funny).

No! NO! SAY IT AIN'T SO!!!!

Good example. Buddy Cole makes Bruno look like John Goodman.

Thanks for the correction. I wasn't familiar with the phrase. I apologize to Mr. Rakoff and the Salon editors for assuming the worst.

As a member of the FSB (the modern version of the KGB) I take great delight in using Twitter and in finding out all about American attitudes. The North Koreans like cyberspace too but I don't like them much - not enough pretty girls as we have in Russia where men are men and women are glad of it. I like a lot the writers who tell us all about themselves and how wonderful they are such as straight-haired man who has never done hanky-panky with other woman in the 20 years of marriage. He would once have been called Hero of the Soviet Union. I like also very much book by John Douglas, FBI profiler, whose opus "You can be anyone you want" about relly weird (this word you like so much) and even dangerous people on Internet. But you are broad-minded as well as broad-bottomed and that is good, just like Babuschka. Brit envoy thrown out of Russia now because caught on video with two very pretty blonde "working girls", as you say, Working too hard he was and drinking champagne too or it could have been vodka. Who cares except angry wife. He is dopey.

This Englishman, Mr. Cohen, he is Jewish but he laughs at men with funny curls in Jerusalem. He's reely scream and I laugh too. Now about "The Gays", they could be ethnic Austrians who have not been Russia's friends. Maybe they are now ruling class in Uzbekistan or Kazakhistan, part of Russian Empire. I intend to keep eye on them. Pardon now, please. Cousin Dmitri has just arrived and I can tell him so much. He's a bit stoopid and wants to know about Mikhail Jackson and how he can learn himself moondance.