A month after dumping the “ashes of Kim Jong II” all over Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet of the Oscars, Sacha Baron Cohen is back with a new trailer for his movie “The Dictator.”
The trailer gives more insight into the plot of the movie about a fictional tyrannical despot, General Aladeen of the Republic of Wadiya. Aside from teasers of Baron Cohen’s character, all we’ve known about the film is that it is loosely based on “Zabibah and The King,” written by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
The new trailer begins with stock footage of Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton talking about the threat of dictators. Soon, we see Aladeen, played by Baron Cohen himself, sitting on a throne in a military uniform and aviator sunglasses. He sports a long beard as well as a high-top haircut.
“I am for free press, free elections,and equal rights for women,” Aladeen, says before dissolving into laughter. “I can’t say that.”
From there, Aladeen receives an invitation to speak to the United Nations, and heads to New York. But a character played by John C. Reilly abducts him, cuts off his signature beard, and leaves the leader wandering the streets of New York with no money or identification as the REM song “Everybody Hurts” swells.
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Aladeen finds assistance from Anna Faris, who plays the manager of a Manhattan health food store. When Aladeen tries to break into the UN unsuccessfully, Faris’ character thinks he’s a protestor and gives him a job. In the trailer, the “What’s Your Number” actress is decidedly unglamorous in a short, brunette cut that makes Aladeen snip, “I thought you were a boy.”
A particularly funny moment in the trailer comes when Aladeen and a friend take a helicopter ride over New York and try to act like “normal American tourists.”
“I’d love to see the fireworks over the Statue of Liberty,” says Aladeen in his native tongue, before making loud “boom” noises. Hearing nothing but a foreign language, and seeing Aladeen’s smile of mischievous glee, the other passengers in the helicopter begin to scream.
“The Dictator” will arrive in theaters on May 11.