The theater turned to chaos after a pack of children ran enthusiastically toward an ice cream truck, only to sprint away with haste, screaming after they were greeted by a roaring bear. “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” had officially made the transition from funny to uproarious.

Sacha Baron Cohen, under the guise of Borat Sagdiyev, goads Americans (mostly southerners) into revealing their true selves. Unfortunately, for those whose paths he happens to cross, that usually means appearing racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, chauvinist or all of the above.

Baron Cohen, as Borat, a Kazakh journalist who has been sent by his government to collect information regarding American culture, catches his subjects with their guards down. When interacting with his American counterparts, Borat spurs on prejudicial colloquy. Those whom he interviews often seem unfazed by his irreverent racism, or sometimes even relieved to have met someone with the same sentiments as themselves.

The audience at “Borat” can’t help but drop its collective jaw as the Kazakh strolls into a rifle shop, asks which gun is the best for “killing Jew,” and is recommended a weapon, post-haste.

Seemingly everywhere Borat goes, he is faced with American citizens who share his prejudices and criticisms of our society (i.e. the dual injustices of universal suffrage and uncaged Jews). From the rodeo-owner who hopes that he will one day be allowed to hang gays, to the car salesman who recommends a Camaro as a “pussy magnet,” “Borat” paints a harsh, yet strikingly honest picture of our culture.

It was by no mere accident that Baron Cohen chose to portray a prostitute named Luenell (Luenell Campbell) as the only kind and decent human being that Borat meets in America. Although Luenell would most certainly be met with condemnation from every other person Borat comes into contact with, she is hard-working and free of bigotry.

Borat, whose sister is the “No. 4 prostitute in all Kazakhstan,” is shocked by the reception that Luenell receives when he invites her to accompany him at an Alabama Dining Society gathering. Luenell the prostitute stood in stark contrast to the rigid world of the dinner-party elite, and they were not pleased with her intrusion.

Cohen’s Kazakhstan has many problems (according to Borat, they are “economic, social and Jew”), but in a place where everyone’s poor, the impoverished are treated with significantly more respect.

After Borat and his date are kicked out of the dining society gathering, he apologizes to Luenell for how she was treated, and makes it up to her with a night of partying. Dropping her off at her home after their evening of fun, Borat expresses his wish that perhaps someday, he will have the honor of paying Luenell for sex.

“Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” is a mockumentary triumph. However, unlike its predecessors, such as “Waiting for Guffman,” very few of the characters in this film are fake. Even though Borat is just a Cohen alter-ego, he still manages to successfully document some of the more unpleasant facets of our society.