The heroic story of a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.9/10
IMDb: 6.5/10
Letterboxd: 2.98/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 56%
Metacritic: 58
TMDB: 6.2/10
Director
Larry Charles
Production
Paramount Pictures, Berg Mandel Schaffer Productions, Scott Rudin Productions, Four by Two Films
Cast
Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley, Anna Faris, Jason Mantzoukas, Sayed Badreya, Adeel Akhtar, Aasif Mandvi, Rizwan Manji, Rocky Citron, Liam Campora, Rick Chambers, Elsayed Mohamed, Horatio Sanz, Elena Goode, Nazanin Homa, Dawn Jackson, Victoria Beltran, Danielle Burgio, Dominique DiCaprio, Aja Frary
Where to watch
fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
Curator Review
Verdict
A broad, often crude political satire that lands enough big laughs to work for viewers who like offensive, headline-chasing comedy, but it’s uneven and frequently more interested in shock than wit. The best material comes from Sacha Baron Cohen’s commitment and the film’s willingness to mock power, celebrity, and American self-importance.
Best for
fans of raunchy political satire
viewers who enjoy Sacha Baron Cohen’s confrontational comedy
people in the mood for a loud, unserious farce with some sharp targets
audiences who don’t mind jokes built around taboo topics
Skip if
you want tightly written or subtle satire
you’re sensitive to crude sexual and ethnic humor
you prefer character-driven comedies with emotional warmth
you dislike movies that rely heavily on improvisation and shock value
Overview
The Dictator is a messy but occasionally very funny satire that aims its fire at authoritarian vanity, American hypocrisy, and the absurdity of celebrity politics. It has the kind of aggressive, anything-goes energy that can make even a weak joke feel dangerous, which is part of the appeal and part of the problem.
Worth noting
Sacha Baron Cohen is fully committed, and the film works best when it lets him push a smug, delusional tyrant into situations that expose everyone else’s vanity too. The supporting cast helps, but the movie’s rhythm is uneven, with stretches that feel like sketch-comedy bits stretched into a feature.
Bottom line
If you’re open to crude, politically incorrect comedy, there are enough inspired gags and discomforting punchlines to make it worthwhile. If you need satire with more precision, or comedy that builds toward something emotionally satisfying, this one is likely to feel more exhausting than incisive.
Top Letterboxd reviews
russman (3★) · 4815 likes
I thought this movie was Aladeen
Edgar Cochran ✝️🍋 (2.5★) · 2260 likes
“Why are you guys so anti-dictatorship? Imagine if America was a dicatatorship! You could let 1% of the people have all the nation’s wealth. You could help your rich friends get richer by cutting their taxes and bailing them out when they gamble and lose. You could ignore the needs of the poor for health-care and education. Your media would appear free; but would secretly be controlled by one person and his family. You could wire-tape phones. You could torture… more “Why are you guys so anti-dictatorship? Imagine if America was a dicatatorship! You could let 1% of the people have all the nation’s wealth. You could help your rich friends get richer by cutting their taxes and bailing them out when they gamble and lose. You could ignore the needs of the poor for health-care and education. Your media would appear free; but would secretly be controlled by one person and his family. You could wire-tape phones. You could torture… more
mia lee vicino (1★) · 2098 likes
the live-action king julien movie not as awesome as it sounds :(
katewaterlife (2.5★) · 1854 likes
are you having a boy or an abortion?
Chris W (4.5★) · 1851 likes
When I looked up the reception this movie got, I was SHOCKED. And it simply shows that RottenTomatoes and even Letterboxd aren't as useful for me when it comes to comedy movies, simply because humor can be so divisive. Critics and most audiences HATED this movie.
Me? I thought it was the funniest movie I’ve seen in a long time. I fucking cried laughing at parts of this movie. Sacha Baron Cohen is fucking hilarious and delivers his trademark controversial… more