NEW YORK — “Welcome devils of the Zionist media and death to the West,” said General Admiral Aladeen, the latest incarnation of Sacha Baron Cohen”s character imaginations. His Excellency addressed a packed house of national and international press today at New York”s Waldorf Astoria (the hotel also featured in film itself — under a different name, of course).
The film itself if chock full of the familiar, though besides well-known landmarks, movie tomes and Baron Cohen”s customary humor, it nods at some recognizable behavior of the Earth”s worst world leaders. He”s been playing up the atrocities of Kim Jong Il, Muammar Gaddafi and – yup – even Adolph Hitler only to turn them on their face in satire “The Dictator.” Aladeen was just as merciless during the press events leading up to the film”s release on May 16.
Cohen – dressed in full General Admiral get-up – arrived to the chanting of hired “supporters” of his regime in Wadiya, the fictional country Aladeen so proudly oppresses. He took to a stage draped in custom carpet and tapestry, flanked by flowers and members of his all-female, mini-skirted security force. He greeted “journalists and their prostitutes,” a title appointed to nearly every female in the film and in the room.
Cohen came prepared to answer journalists” sequenced and pre-approved questions – queries deliciously sanctioned for maximum mileage – a meta-move that goes hand-in-hand with a scripted comedy and despotic media censorship. And at this juncture, Cohen began to blast everything from Hollywood”s biggest names to American politics.
Asked of his thoughts on the film biz, Aladeen lauded “fantasy” films like “”The Lord of the Rings” and ‘Schindler”s List.”” One of his favorite pastimes – bombs – reminded him that there were fewer “bigger bombs than ‘John Carter.”” Plus, “Mel Gibson is head of our Museum of Intolerance.”
Cohen was reminded of the incident earlier this year when he “spilled” the ashes of “Kim Jong Ill” onto Ryan Seacrest on the Oscars red carpet. “Please, this wasn”t the first time an Asian man poured all over [Seacrest”s] chest.” Confirmed “Dictator” cameo Megan Fox – who currently undergoing unconfirmed pregnancy rumors – was among Aladeen”s “sex activities” conquests, but if the child were his, “it would be the first-ever anal conception.”
When not aiming at the back end, Aladeen was talking about the front page. On the Arab Spring, he was thrilled/indignant when”ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was “shown the door… with the billion dollars he stole.” He mocked the UN security council for their inactivity in ailing Syria. “You”ve done next to nothing for Syrian people, but you can always do less,” he encouraged.
For American presidential politics, Aladeen has his man: “Mitchell” Romney.
“[Mitt Romney] has the makings of a great dictator. He”s incredibly wealthy but pays no taxes, and it”s not much of a leap to go from firing people to firing squads… and from putting pets on the top of the car to putting political dissidents on top of them.”